No Need for Dragonballs
by necroneox3d
Summary: This is NOT my story, this is an awesome story by a friend from another site. I've looked for it on here and couldnt find it yet i think it should be shared with more people. It truly is one of the best fanfics i've ever read. Great Russel!
1. Chapter 1

Ep. 1 - A New Friend

Tenchi Muyo and Dragonball Z is owned/copyrighted by their respective companies.

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real attempt at a

fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi TV) and the OVA so

most of the main characters you've seen from there will appear here as well.

It also crosses a bit with Dragonball Z with the existence of Dragonballs

and immensely powerful warriors. Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to

be together, and Aeka is still living at the house for now. You'll see when it

happens. Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right to the

story. Enjoy! Send all hate mail / fan mail to .

It was the beginning of a beautiful day, with the sun just beginning

to crest the distant mountains and the first rays of sunlight falling into the

valley where Tenchi's house was located. Birds were chirping, the crickets

were quieting down for the day, and a light breeze was blowing the warm

summer air into Tenchi's room. It was approaching seven o'clock am, and

it was about time for the house to get going. Tenchi began to stir slightly.

Still groggy with sleep, he rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up in bed. He

stretched and yawned, and looked out the window to the beginning of

another day. Once again, he was already dressed, since he had a bad habit

of sleeping with his clothes on. He yawned again and tossed back his

covers from the bed and looked for his slippers, which were nowhere to be

found. Undaunted, he got up and looked around his room. Finding his

slippers at the foot of the bed, he slid his feet into them, walked to his door,

and just as he was about to slide the door open he felt a couple of arms grab

his shirt.

"Good Morning, Tenchi." Ryoko was floating in the air and had

wrapped her arms around Tenchi in a hug. She landed with a light thud on

the floor, still keeping her arms wrapped around him. She had on a very

pretty light blue dress with a blue and purple sash. This one particular dress

didn't have a tail attached to it. He rolled his eyes, smiled, and gently took

Ryoko's arm and unwrapped himself.

"Good Morning to you too, Ryoko." He yawned again and started

walking down the hallway to the washroom. "Stop moving my slippers

around the room."

She ignored the last comment. "Tenchiii, where are you going?"

She questioned in that tone that usually meant she was in a flirting mood.

"I need to use the washroom. I had a lot to drink last night and

well, I need to do what comes naturally." He slid open the door and stepped

inside. He glanced back at Ryoko. "And please stay out this time, okay?

Privacy is a good thing." He slid the door closed.

Once again, Ryoko was standing outside with a dejected look on

her face. "Um... Are you sure you'll be alright in there?" She giggled,

remembering the first time she did that. She then began scratching at the

door.

Inside, Tenchi removed his shirt and tossed it into the growing pile

of clothes. Noticing how the pile was now 2 feet tall, he realized that he'd

need to do the laundry real soon. Wandering over to the toilet, he pulled his

shorts down and sat down. Remembering what happened a long time ago,

he glanced at the wall, which this time didn't have Ryoko's head poking

through it. Sighing in relief, he grabbed a magazine that was sitting on the

bathroom sink. Thumbing through a few pages and finding nothing of

interest, he placed it back onto the sink, stood up, and hitched up his shorts.

He grabbed a bath towel and a washrag that were nearby and slung them

over his shoulder. He could still hear Ryoko scratching at the bathroom

door. He laughed to himself, remembering the days after his fight with

Kagato and how Ryoko acted so silly.

"Ryoko, I'm coming out, so don't fall on your face again."

"Oh, alright!" She backed away from the door as Tenchi slid it

open.

"I'm going to go take a bath before breakfast. See you at the table,

okay?" He started walking downstairs with Ryoko right on his heels, trying

to grab him for another hug.

"Oh! I'll take one with you!" She grabbed Tenchi's hand and

floated into the air with him hanging below.

"No!!! I mean... I'm not going to be long. Please put me down

and go wait for breakfast on the couch or something. I didn't have the

greatest night's rest so I'm still a bit sleepy. I'm sure I'll feel better after a

quick bath. Now please, go do something useful." He remembered the

huge pile of laundry in the bathroom. "I've got an idea, why not do the

wash? There's a pile of clothes in the bathroom almost two feet tall! If you

need help, I'm sure my dad or Sasami would be glad to help you."

"Ohhh, but I'd rather take a bath right now with you," she whined.

Tenchi sighed and walked across the yard to the lake with the

floating onsen over it. Just before he put his foot into the lake water, he was

teleported to the entrance. Ryoko was right behind him. He looked back at

her with his face red. She had a huge smile on her face, and she giggled

lightly. He opened the door and walked inside. The humid air rushed into

his nostrils as he took in a deep breath. Walking behind a tree, and making

sure Ryoko wasn't watching, he removed his shorts and wrapped his bath

towel around his waist. He stepped out from behind the tree and saw

Ryoko, butt naked. He turned super red and his nose started to bleed. He

quickly turned away and stepped into the warm water. Ryoko laughed.

"You're still as shy as I remember." She moved over toward

Tenchi and grabbed him in another hug. "Ahhh, this is the life. Don't you

feel comfortable and relaxed here, Tenchi?"

He nodded. "Yeah, this is a very nice and calming place to be. It

feels so good hearing the waterfalls and sitting here in the warm water."

She watched him dreamily. She loved him so much and whenever

he agreed with her, it served to strengthen her bond with him even more.

She sighed calmly and smiled sweetly. "I could just sit here all day,

couldn't you?"

"No, not really. I hate it when my skin gets pruned, and secondly,

I've got too many chores to take care of to even consider it. Sorry Ryoko,

but I've got to be a busybody like Sasami around the house because nothing

gets themselves done. Today I've got to go to the field and get another

basket of carrots and I've got a variety of other things to do as well."

Ryoko frowned. "Oh... okay then. Well, wouldn't want you to

get behind schedule!" She grabbed his washcloth and a bar of soap.

"Ready for me to wash your back and then you can wash mine?"

"Yes, and thank you, Ryoko." He again turned red. She giggled

again, lathered up the washrag and gently began scrubbing his back.

As usual, Sasami was up before everybody else. She had a very

good night sleep, since she was usually exhausted from the tasks from the

day before. She was wearing her usual pink and blue dress, with sash. She

was already preparing a massive breakfast of various favorite foods for the

family. Grabbing a kitchen knife, she speedily sliced up a bunch of carrots

and tossed them into the frying pan. Grabbing the salt, she sprinkled a little

onto the vegetables, and put it back into its place on the counter. She

started humming a happy tune to herself as she lowered the heat to allow

the food to simmer. Ryo-Ohki was nearby, quietly meowing to herself and

watching Sasami with interest. She saw her slice up the carrots and toss

them into the pan, which really got her mouth watering. Feeling

mischievous and daring this morning, she lightly hopped up onto the

counter behind Sasami and found a couple carrots that weren't touched yet.

Her eyes flashed toward Sasami, who didn't notice her. Grabbing a carrot,

she darted off the counter and tore through the kitchen into the living room.

Sasami turned just in time to see a blur of orange and brown go tearing out

of the room.

"Ryo-Ohki! Come back here with that!" Sasami started to go after

Ryo-Ohki, then stopped. "Oh, you... oh well. We have tons of carrots

anyway." She turned her attention back to the stove for a moment to make

sure everything was cooking okay, and then she quickly went out to the

shed. She slid open the door and walked in without turning on the light.

Walking to the basket of carrots, she pulled out three small ones. She slid

the door closed after exiting the shed and went back to the kitchen. She

washed the carrots and put them up on the counter with the other ones.

Grabbing a washrag, she quickly wiped down the counter in preparation for

another dish she was going to prepare.

A few minutes later, she checked the time. It was nearing seven

fifty. She then went to the dining table and set the tablecloth. She then

placed nine pairs of chopsticks for everybody in the center of the table. She

placed a dozen plates next to the chopsticks, and then got out the cloth

napkins and placed those next to the plates. Heading back into the kitchen,

she grabbed two of the five dishes and brought those out to the table and set

them down. She returned to the kitchen and somehow managed to grab all

three plates at once. She returned to the table and set those down in the

center. She saw Tenchi's father sitting on the couch.

"Breakfast will be ready in just a few more minutes! I hope you're

good and hungry! We have lots to eat today."

"Thank you, Sasami. You're such a good cook and always so

bright and cheery in the morning. It sure does smell good." His mouth

started watering. He loved Sasami's cooking. He then turned his attention

back to his newspaper as Sasami returned to the kitchen.

Aeka looked at the clock in her bedroom. It was 7:50am, so she

decided it was time to get going. Groaning lightly and stretching, half the

joints in her body cracked and popped as her body was still waking up. She

turned a little red and glanced around the room to see if anybody else was

present. Finding herself alone, she tossed back her covers and got up.

Walking to the closet, she picked out her usual purple dress robe and sash

and put them on. She decided not to wear the second layer of clothing since

it already felt like it was going to be a very warm day. Moving over toward

the window, she pulled back the curtain and peered outside, squinting from

the bright sunshine.

"Mmmm, today is going to be another beautiful day." She took in

a deep breath of fresh air. She felt so calm and peaceful today.

She noticed some movement in the onsen over the lake. "Hmm, I

wonder who is in there this early in the morning?" Grabbing a pair of

binoculars that she kept in one of her storage bins, she again peered inside

the onsen. Seeing Tenchi and Ryoko in there, she turned a little red,

realizing she just was peeping on both of them. She sighed, and put the

binoculars back into the bin. She was disappointed when Tenchi had

chosen Ryoko over her, but she was a good sport about it. She realized that

it was his choice to make and no amount of pressure could change his mind.

She felt a little lonely since that day, but Tenchi was still always very nice

to her, and continued to allow her to stay at his home. He comforted her

when she was feeling down, much to the displeasure of Ryoko. So she

decided to remain at his home, to be his personal guardian.

She yawned, and walked out of her room, closing the door behind

her. Wandering downstairs, she heard the usual noises from the kitchen.

Nobuyuki was also awake, sitting on the couch reading his newspaper. He

nodded in her direction when she passed by.

"Breakfast will be ready in just a few moments. Sasami has

already put most of the food on the table."

"Ah, okay. I'll go and see if Sasami needs any help." She smiled

sweetly and went into the kitchen.

"Sasami? Is everything all right in here? Do you need any help

with anything?" She looked at her little sister who was frantically trying to

clean up the mess.

"Oh, Aeka! Yes, could you please grab a washrag and just wipe

off that counter behind me? Then after that, could you go get everybody

and tell everyone breakfast is ready? Tenchi and Ryoko are..."

"Yes, I know where they're at." She turned red.

"Um... okay. And you know where Washu and Grandfather are.

That's all, thank you sis." She smiled her cutest way.

Aeka quickly wiped down the counter and then went outside. She

walked around the house until she could see the lake and the floating onsen,

and walked toward it. Just before stepping into the lake itself, she was

transported to the entrance. She turned red again, and quietly rapped on the

door.

"Ryoko? Tenchi? Breakfast is ready. Come and get it before it

gets cold." She opened the door and peered inside.

Tenchi and Ryoko were sitting with their backs to her, but Tenchi

heard Aeka open the door. He turned. "Okay, Aeka. We'll be out of here

in a moment. Thanks for telling us." He smiled at her, and in doing so,

made Ryoko feel a ping of jealousy. However, she held her tongue and

didn't say anything, since she did know how Aeka felt after Tenchi had

made his choice. She herself would have been devastated if she were

rejected over Aeka or anybody else for that matter.

Aeka closed the door and turned. She still had feelings for Tenchi,

but she was still feeling lonely. This was the second time she has been left

alone. The first time was with her brother, Yosho, and now again with

Tenchi. She sighed and walked toward the edge of the onsen, where she

was transported to the ground below. Making her way across the yard, she

turned and looked back, still wishing Tenchi could be with her.

She went back inside and made her way to Washu's lab. Stepping

through the door into subspace, she found the other door directly in front of

her. She opened it and stepped into the lab. Washu was seen at her usual

place in front of her computer, diligently working the hours away. Aeka

rattled the crab noisemaker that she kept over the door to let her know of

visitors. She stopped typing for a moment and looked over her shoulder.

"What is it? I'm a bit busy here now." She looked tired and

irritated at something.

"Excuse me Little Washu, but breakfast is now ready. Sasami

prepared a very nice meal for us today." She looked at the floor while

fumbling with her clothes.

Washu sighed and stood up. "I could use some food right about

now. I was getting cranky from working all night on an empty stomach."

She grinned. "I guess it's time for some brain fuel. What did Sasami make

for us today?"

"I really didn't look at what she did make. But you know Sasami

can make anything taste real good. She's such an excellent cook."

"Yes, I'd have to agree with you there. Well, let's go. I'm

starved!" Washu opened the door and gestured for Aeka to step out first.

"Thank you Little Washu." She left the lab with Washu right

behind her. "Oh, I still have to go get Grandfather. I'll be back in a few

minutes, so just get comfortable at the table, all right? Tenchi and Ryoko

will be joining us very shortly." Aeka checked the time. It was almost

eight o'clock.

Washu went over to the table, exclaiming at all the food that was

available. Her computer appeared in front of her as she analyzed the

balance of nutrients from the various foods. Just one of her favorite things

she enjoyed doing. Aeka giggled softly and left for the shrine. As she got

to the long stairway, she could see Grandfather already on his way down.

She waved toward him and he waved back.

"Breakfast is ready. Come and get it while it's still hot," she said

as he reached the bottom step. He grinned and they both walked off to the

table together.

Kiyone and Mihoshi were still on early morning patrol. They had

just completed a hard day's work and were both tired and hungry for some

real food.

"These ration bars that HQ calls food is horrible. Tastes like

cardboard," complained Mihoshi, who had finally gotten hungry enough to

try to eat one.

"Well, they will keep us alive if we ever do have to eat them. Why

couldn't you have waited another five minutes? We'll be home by then,

and Sasami will have breakfast all ready for us." Kiyone looked at Mihoshi

with disgust and irritation. She still couldn't understand why Mihoshi

would act like such a ditz so often. Even the simplest tasks she would

botch. It was amazing she could even breathe on her own. Kiyone

continued to scowl, but her expression softened and she hit the throttle,

causing the patrol ship to accelerate to a higher speed.

"Well, I just got so hungry, and I had to eat something," she

complained again. "Well, we'll be home in a few minutes so I guess that's

okay."

After about five minutes of silence, they entered Earth's

atmosphere, and sped toward Tenchi's house. They could still see the

shadowy line of night and day from Earth's orbit. A minute later, they were

hovering over his house. They landed in the backyard, exited the ship, and

then put the ship into subspace, where it would be protected from thieves

and the elements. The perfect garage!

Walking inside, they could see everybody just getting seated

around the dining table. "Right on time." Kiyone smiled and waved.

Everybody turned toward them and waved back.

"Welcome back, Kiyone and Mihoshi," Aeka said from her seat

beside Tenchi. "Did everything go okay out there today?"

"Yeah, we didn't have a single emergency or call today. It was

seven hours of pure boredom. Mihoshi of course just watched TV almost

the whole time. When she wasn't doing that, she was sleeping."

"Hey, I was paying attention to the radar scope too, you know."

"How could you have been paying attention to it when you were

sleeping!!!" Kiyone shouted. Mihoshi just looked taken aback. She turned

red, but didn't say anything.

"Well, girls, just come on over here and eat breakfast. There is

plenty to go around, so dig in!" Tenchi said from his position between

Aeka and Ryoko. Kiyone and Mihoshi both took their usual seats opposite

of Tenchi and Ryoko and each grabbed a plate, a pair of chopsticks, and a

napkin.

"Wow, Sasami, you really went out of your way today? Is there

any special occasion?" Kiyone inquired.

"No, I just felt really good today and wanted to prepare a nice meal

for everybody." Sasami responded.

"Yum! Mihoshi, could you please pass the shrimp tempura?"

Washu asked.

"Sure! Here you go." She lifted the plate and passed it over

Kiyone's head, spilling a little of the juice right on her hair. "Uh, oops.

Sorry Kiyone."

She just glared at her, and wiped the juice up with her napkin.

"Well, I need a bath anyway. Don't worry about it. Just don't pass things

over people's heads anymore, alright?"

"Tenchi, could you please pass the miso soup?" Washu smiled at

him.

"Sure, here you are."

"Thanks."

Everybody ate breakfast in earnest. It vanished within twenty

minutes, and all that was left was a mess of empty plates and full stomachs.

Out of nowhere, Tenchi let out the biggest belch he ever made. Everybody

stared at him, and then started laughing. He turned red and started laughing

too.

"Ahhh," he said. "Gone, but not forgotten. Sorry about that. It

came out of nowhere."

Everybody was still chuckling and giggling. Especially Ryoko.

"Wow Tenchi! I never knew you had that kind of power in you,

my boy!" She slapped him on the back.

Everybody started laughing again, except for Aeka, who just

started at the stack of dirty dishes. She got up along with everybody else

and grabbed the dishes, then went into the kitchen with Sasami.

"What's the matter, Aeka?" Sasami looked concerned since her

sister didn't find the event earlier funny at all.

"Oh, nothing. Sorry, Sasami. Can I help you with the dishes?"

"That's okay, I can take care of this stuff myself. Just go take it

easy today. You've been busy for the entire week so far and you deserve a

break."

"But you don't look to take a break." Aeka looked dejected.

"Well, that's because I choose not to. I love being a busybody,

always doing something around the house. I love being busy. Back on

Jurai it was boring because I never did anything fun or otherwise. Here, it's

different. I know what it's like to be a normal person, and I love it."

"I see. Okay, maybe I'll go do the laundry or something. It's been

a while since anybody has done that."

Aeka turned and left the kitchen with Sasami watching her with a

real concerned look on her face.

In outer space, a small space pod was hurtling toward Earth. Its

sole occupant was a male, about twenty-two in age. He was human in

appearance and well built. He was wearing normal Earth clothes. He had

on a normal pair of blue pants with a light blue, logo-less t-shirt. He had

black, spiky hair and black eyes. He was in stasis for the entire duration of

his trip. The computer system onboard the space pod, upon detecting Earth

on its sensors, initiated the wakeup sequence. It initiated a vapor bath, and

then started beeping.

Groaning and stretching, he started to come around. He shook his

head and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Yawning and stretching again,

he hit the button on the computer console to stop the horrid beeping noise.

Punching in few buttons, he initiated voice commands.

"Voice commands ready," his computer responded in its feminine

voice.

"Computer, where are we?"

"We are approaching Earth. Estimated time of arrival, ten

minutes."

"Computer, have you detected the presence of Zorpheus on this

planet?"

"Negative."

"Whew. That's good. I made it here before he did. Computer,

scan for ki signatures."

"Scanning... Multiple ki signatures found. Displaying them from

most powerful to least powerful."

He watched the numbers scroll up his display.

"Hmm... only a hundred for the most powerful? Well, that's

nothing to worry about. Computer, land our ship nearby those powers, but

do it discretely. I don't want to attract any attention."

"Affirmative."

He sighed to himself. He blessed his good fortune for making it to

this planet before his rival had. Zorpheus still had to figure out what planet

he needs to go to for his treasure. That treasure is something known as

Dragonballs. According to legend, these seven balls, when brought

together, can summon a great dragon, which can grant wishes. The thought

of immortality was too much for Zorpheus to bear, and he desired that

above all else. He became obsessive, and stopped at nothing to get his

wish. Being his partner and friend for a long time, he tried to sway

Zorpheus from this wish, but to no avail. Both Zorpheus and he were very

close in strength. However, Zorpheus was slightly weaker and slower. But

knowing his rival well, he was certain that Zorpheus was training at his

hardest.

His spacecraft started howling as it entered the Earth's atmosphere.

"One minute till landing," his computer quipped. The new arrival to planet

Earth sat back and waited for landing.

Yosho had returned to his shrine on top of the hill. He was still

full from breakfast. For once, he really indulged himself and over-ate a

little so now he was feeling the after-affects of it. He entered the office and

sat down at his table to continue his work. He started working, but this time

he was distracted. He could sense someone coming up to the shrine. This

is unusual, but it's always nice to have someone new pay respects to the

shrine. He sensed him finally making his way to the top of the hill, and felt

him move toward the shrine office. Assuming this person wanted to visit or

discuss something with him, he stood back up and walked back toward his

door, just as the visitor knocked on it.

He slid back the door and was taken aback. The man was quite

tall, nearly as tall as he was. Well built too.

"Hello. How can I help you," questioned Yosho.

"Hi." He looked quizzically at Yosho. "Aren't you Prince

Yosho?"

Again, Yosho was surprised. "How did you know that? Almost

nobody knows that name." He looked into his black eyes.

"I can sense your ki level. I've sensed it before quite a while ago.

Your ki signature matches that of Prince Yosho, of Jurai." He smiled.

"Ki level? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. You refer to it as your Jurai power. I'm

referring to your life force."

"I see. But, who are you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Russ."

He extended his hand.

Yosho looked surprised, but he took his hand and smiled. "Pleased

to make your acquaintance, Russ. Please, join me inside here so we can

talk. You can explain why you're here. I can tell you're not human, and

you're very strong. Strange though, why do you have a human name?"

"Correct. I'm actually from a race called Sayajin. Or, everybody

just calls us Sayins. We're human in appearance, aside from everybody

having spiky black hair, black pupils, and some of us have a tail. My name

is definitely Earth-based. My parents had visited Earth many years ago, and

decided then that I would have a human name. But anyway, thank you for

the invite. I'd love to discuss some things with you." He looked back into

Yosho's violet eyes.

The room was well lit and was actually quite comfortable. Russ

could hear the birds chirping and feel a soft breeze blowing through the

room. The sun was nice and bright, and it just felt good to be on a planet

again. Being in a sterile spaceship for over nine months was enough to

drive anybody insane.

"Please, have a seat." Yosho took a seat across the table. He

picked up a pot of green tea, and poured two cups. He slid the second cup

over to Russ, who picked it up and took a sip. He grimaced, finding that he

did not like the flavor of it at all.

But to be polite, he smiled and swallowed. "Thanks. I haven't had

a natural beverage in a long time."

Yosho chuckled. "It's okay if you don't like it. It's an acquired

taste." He shifted positions to an Indian style posture. "So, please, explain

why you're here."

Russ sighed. "I'm here to stop an evil that will eventually make its

way to Earth. Unfortunately, I really can't tell you more than that. Doing

so could really mess up a lot of things on this planet. But in a way, I'm here

to protect this planet and it's inhabitants against a very powerful foe. This

man is on a quest, and his quest will eventually bring him here." Russ had a

worried look on his face.

Yosho noticed it. "You're worried, aren't you?"

Russ looked back at Yosho. "Yes, of course. He's nearly as

strong as I am. I'm going to need to train a lot in order to stay ahead of

him. The problem is that I'm not sure where I can train and keep it secret

from everybody else. Secondly, I don't have anywhere to stay. I'm here

alone. I came in a tiny little space pod which is only large enough to seat

one person moderately comfortably, but even so, it's no place to live."

Yosho looked back at Russ, who as now staring out the window.

"You're welcome to stay with us if you want. We're already pretty

crowded, but I think we can fit one more. You'll share a room with my

grandson, Tenchi. He's a very nice, well-mannered young man. He's a

little younger than you are... I think. But that's irrelevant anyway. What

do you think?"

Russ looked back at Yosho and smiled. "I appreciate your offer.

Lead the way! Oh, one more thing. I have a voracious appetite. I don't

expect you to take care of me. But I do appreciate the roof over my head."

"Hey, it's no problem. We have a few people at the house who eat

way more than most do anyway."

"Thanks again. I very much appreciate it." Russ and Yosho both

stood up and opened the door out to the shrine, slowly making their way

over to Tenchi's home.


	2. Chapter 2

Episode 2 - Training Begins

Tenchi Muyo and Dragonball Z is owned/copyrighted by their respective companies.

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real attempt at a

fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi TV) and the OVA so

most of the main characters you've seen from there will appear here as well.

It also crosses a bit with Dragonball Z with the existence of Dragonballs

and immensely powerful warriors. Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to

be together, and Aeka is still living at the house for now. You'll see when it

happens. Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right to the

story. Enjoy! Send all hatemail/fanmail to .

Prince Yosho slid the door open to the Misaki home and stepped

inside, with Russ following behind him. Entering the living room, Russ

saw Nobuyuki sitting on the couch. The room had a cozy feeling about it.

It had lots of lighting, and was of an interesting design. A stairway was to

his left, and the couch with the coffee table was in the middle of the room

on top of a nice rug. There was a TV in one corner, with a karaoke machine

near it. Nobody else was in the room, but he could hear other noises

throughout the house, which told him other people, were here. Nobuyuki

looked up from his paper and looked surprised at seeing his father come

back with a visitor.

"Hey Dad, who's the new guy?" Not giving Yosho the

opportunity to answer, he put his paper aside and stood up. "Hi there, I'm

Nobuyuki. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Russ blushed, since he wasn't used to being accepted so quickly.

He was more used to having someone scrutinize his appearance first. "How

do you do. I'm Russ, and it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He

extended his hand.

"Ahhh, okay then, Russ." He took his hand and shook it. He was

surprised by how much muscle Russ had in his arms and hands. He winced

slightly at the crushing pressure. "Wow, that's quite a grip you've got

there. So, tell me, why are you here?"

Russ started to answer, but was interrupted.

"Russ is here on vacation." Yosho looked over at Russ to see if he

had a problem with that. Seeing none, he continued. "If it's okay, he'll be

staying with us for a while. Do you think he can share a room with

Tenchi?"

"Well, Ryoko has been wanting to move to Tenchi's room, for

obvious reasons. If Tenchi agrees, we can do that, and Russ can take

Ryoko's old room. Is that okay with you, Russ?"

"No problem. I just appreciate a nice comfortable place to sleep. I

appreciate your hospitality."

"My, my. So polite!" Nobuyuki grinned, causing Russ to blush

again. "Well, let's get started, shall we? I'll introduce you to everybody."

Nobuyuki turned away. "Girls! Tenchi! Come on over to the

living room! We have a new visitor!"

Russ heard a bunch of footsteps start thumping throughout the

house. Normally, he can't stand being the center of attention, especially in

front of a group of people. Having a severe case of stage fright will do that

to a man. But he sighed and calmed himself down. The first person to

enter the living room was Sasami. She looked over at Nobuyuki, and then

over at Russ. She gasped slightly, and covered her mouth with her hand.

Russ looked over at her and smiled warmly.

Russ squatted down and relaxed a bit. "Hi there." He was

surprised at how cute she was. "How are you doing? I'm Russ, at your

service."

Sasami smiled and walked over to him. She gave a little bow.

"How are you doing? My name is Sasami. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She offered her hand.

He carefully grasped it and gave it a little kiss. Sasami grew red,

but smiled. Just then, Aeka and her guardians came into the room. She

looked at Russ and almost face-faulted. She recovered quickly at her initial

shock and smiled widely, blushing all the while. She couldn't believe how

handsome he was. Russ glanced up from Sasami and stood up, giving Aeka

a full view of his height and muscles. He too was taken aback. He had

never seen anyone so beautiful as her before. It was almost love at first

sight.

"H... hi." Russ swallowed and stumbled his way over to Aeka,

turning red. "I'm Russ, and I'm honored to meet you." He knelt down,

took her hand and gave it a little kiss.

Aeka turned red, but she managed a respectable smile, trying to

keep from giggling at his chivalry. It had been a couple years since she was

treated like that before. She had almost forgotten that she is a princess,

since she had been living as an Earthling for so long. "Hello. I'm Aeka.

And the honor is mine. I'm... flattered to meet you."

Russ stood back up, still blushing. Nobuyuki elbowed Yosho who

had a cocky grin on his face. Sasami just looked on with mild interest.

Romance didn't appeal to her yet.

Azaka and Kamadake slid forward, beside Aeka. "How do you do

sir," they said in unison. Russ took a step back with a look of shock.

"Those logs are talking!"

Sasami giggled. "They're not really logs, that's Azaka and

Kamadake, our servants," she explained.

Russ looked back at the two, and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect. I've never seen anything like you

two before. It's nice to meet you both." He gave a small bow.

The log with the red design spoke. "The pleasure is ours. We are

the guardians of Princess Aeka. I'm Kamadake."

"And I'm Azaka. It's nice to meet you."

Russ just smiled at both of them. He was about to say something

else when Kiyone and Mihoshi both entered the living room. They both

looked pretty tired and worn out. Russ took a few steps back from Aeka

and turned his attention to the two young women who were now making

their way down the stairs. Both Kiyone and Mihoshi were both beautiful

and attractive. They were also in uniform. They both looked over at Russ

as they made their way downstairs.

"Hello there. How are you doing? I'm Kiyone, and this here is my

partner, Mihoshi."

Mihoshi smiled and giggled. She found Russ quite attractive as

well.

Russ bowed his head, still smiling. "Hello, it's nice to meet you

both. I'm Russ. What are you partners in, anyway?"

"Oh, we're partners forever! We both work for the Galaxy

Police." Mihoshi grabbed Kiyone in a hug.

Kiyone, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes at Mihoshi. She

sighed in defeat, and then offered Russ her hand, which he grasped gently

and shook. Both Kiyone and Mihoshi couldn't stop staring at his muscles.

They've never seen anyone built or as well defined as he was. His hairstyle

and eye color were really different too. Kiyone immediately knew that he

wasn't a human. Mihoshi would not have noticed if Kiyone didn't say

anything.

"It's nice to meet you. How come you're here? You... don't

resemble any human we know of."

"I'm here on vacation, and you're right. I'm not a human. I'm

from a race known as Saiya-jin. I was, however, born on this planet, and I

had lived here for quite some time. I've only recently come back to visit it.

I was surprised to find other people who aren't human on this planet."

Now Kiyone was a little suspicious. "How did you know where to

find us?"

"Oh, that's easy. We have a technology that can detect your Jurai

power. It's called a scouter. I had it localize your energy, so I could land

nearby."

"Interesting." She still felt a little suspicious, as any good GP

officer would, but she smiled anyway.

Sasami was still watching Russ. "You know, I bet Washu would

love to see your scouter. She loves checking out new technology."

"Who's Washu?"

"She's our scientific genius around the house. You'll meet her

shortly. She's a little cocky, and a little full of herself, but she is probably

the smartest person in existence," Kiyone explained.

Russ laughed. "Well, I'd have a big ego too if I were in her

position."

At that moment, Ryoko and Tenchi both entered the room from the

outside. Russ had his back turned toward them, but he could sense them

behind him. He turned around and took a look at both of them. Once again,

Ryoko was hanging on Tenchi with a gigantic smile on her face while

Tenchi just sighed and shook his head. Now noticing Russ, his eyes

widened a little and he stopped in his tracks. Ryoko opened her eyes and

glanced around the room, immediately noticing Russ as well. Already

being deeply in love with Tenchi, she just narrowed her eyes at him, even

though she did find him quite attractive. She didn't like most visitors since

she was always suspicious that they were there to capture her for trial or

some other reason. But lately, that feeling has been slipping away, since

she's been out of trouble for so many years. Even Nagi quit pursuing her

across the galaxy since there was no bounty left on her head, since her

involvement in the last outrage with a second Kagato on Jurai.

Russ noticed Ryoko's slight glare, but didn't think too much of it.

"Hello. I presume you're Tenchi, and you're Ryoko," he said, looking at

them both. "It's nice to meet you two. My name is Russ. I'm here on

vacation, and Yosho had offered to allow me to stay with you for a little

while. If you guys don't mind, that is."

"Oh great. Another freeloader," Ryoko mumbled to herself.

Tenchi's eyes returned to normal and he smiled. "Hi, Russ. Well,

if Grandpa says it's okay, then it's okay with me." Ryoko didn't say

anything, but instead grasped Tenchi a little tighter. Tenchi turned to his

dad. "What are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?"

"We figured it'd be okay if Ryoko moved into your room and we'd

have Russ take her old room."

"Yippee!!! Oh, won't it be wonderful, Tenchi? We can sleep

together and even take our baths together. We'll be inseparable!" Ryoko's

smile grew super huge, and Tenchi knew she was thinking of something

mischievous.

"Ryoko, we already do take most of our baths together. But

anyway, I guess that will work out okay. Ryoko can have my bed and I'll

sleep on the floor."

"Ohhh, Tenchi! We can have Washu fabricate us a nice big bed so

we can both cradle and hold each other as we go off to sleep!" Tenchi

started blushing. Russ on the other hand twisted his lip slightly and rolled

his eyes. He had never had a girlfriend or any kind of relationship before

and never had anyone hang on him like Tenchi currently did. He glanced

back at Aeka, who was frowning and had her hands balled up into fists.

Russ assumed that Aeka was still in love with Tenchi, but had apparently

been rejected in favor of Ryoko. What he couldn't figure out is why she

was still living here with those two, even though she seemed angry when

she saw Ryoko hanging on Tenchi. He decided not to try not to assume

anything else, since he had a bad habit of getting himself into trouble when

he did. He just had too many incorrect assumptions.

"Well, you've met just about everybody. Would you like

something to eat? We have some leftovers from breakfast and you're

welcome to them," said Nobuyuki.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Russ. We're going to go back

upstairs to sleep. We have to do another early morning patrol shift

tomorrow," Kiyone said.

Mihoshi started whining. "I don't want to do that again! It's so

boring!"

Kiyone just grabbed Mihoshi by the arm and hauled her up the

stairs to their room, while she was still whining and complaining.

Russ watched them go. "Don't worry about them. They always

argue and fight like that. Sometimes they can be quite comical," Ryoko

said. Russ just continued to have a perplexed look on his face, but then he

shrugged his shoulders.

Sasami looked back over at Russ. "Well, I have to get back into

the kitchen and clean up the mess from breakfast. You're very welcome to

join us for lunch if you want."

"Thank you very much... uh..." He scratched his head. "I'm

sorry, but I forgot your name already. I'm terrible with names and I'm kind

of forgetful."

Sasami giggled. "It's Sasami."

"Ahhh yes, Sasami. Thanks for the invite for lunch, but I only eat

once a day. I've already eaten, so I won't be hungry for the rest of the day."

He lied. He didn't want to eat everything in sight in the first five minutes of

meeting everybody.

She looked a little disappointed. "Oh, okay. It's no big deal. You

can eat with us tomorrow then!"

Russ snickered. "I'm afraid I don't think you have enough food to

feed me, let alone all these other people." The remaining people in the

room stared at him. Russ started perspiring a little. "What... Oh, I know.

You don't know about a Saiyan's appetite. Let me put it to you this way. If

you saw how much I normally eat, you'd think I was a pig. However, it's

just a normal appetite." He smiled and tried to laugh.

"Well, our offer still stands. We may not be able to fill you up, but

we'll do our best." Nobuyuki smiled.

"I've got to go to the field now and get more carrots. Hopefully

I'll be back before lunchtime. See you guys later!" Tenchi turned and tried

to walk out the door with Ryoko still hanging on him.

"See you later, Tenchi, Ryoko. It was nice meeting you."

Russ heard a meowing sound from behind him.

"Ryo-Ohki! There you are." Sasami knelt down and allowed the

cabbit to jump onto her shoulder and then onto her head

Russ was flabbergasted. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but

what is that?"

"This is Ryo-Ohki, our family pet and spaceship. Isn't she cute?"

Russ grinned and walked over to Sasami. He reached over and

scratched under Ryo-Ohki's chin as she meowed softly to herself and her

tail bobbed back and forth. Sasami mentioning that the little creature was a

spaceship flew completely over his head.

"Wow. She's so soft and cute too." Russ rubbed his nose. "Uh

oh..."

He sneezed. He did his best to block it as he covered his nose and

mouth. He sneezed again. "I knew it. Ryo-Ohki is part cat, isn't she?"

"Yes. She's part rabbit and part cat."

"I'm allergic to cats. I start sneezing like crazy around them.

Problem is I love cats so it's hard for me to stay away from them." He

sneezed again. "I need to go wash my hands. Can you show me where a

sink is?"

"Sure, there's one right here in the kitchen. Follow me!" Sasami

walked to a door at the end of the room and slid it back, and gestured for

Russ to follow.

"Excuse me, everybody. If I don't take care of this now I'll sneeze

myself into a headache." He chuckled, and then went into the kitchen.

Aeka watched him leave, and then turned back to Yosho. "Who is

he really? Why is he here?"

"I told you already, Aeka, that he's visiting our planet after so

many years of being away. There is nothing more to it than that."

Aeka still suspected more, but she didn't pursue the issue any

further. "I still have laundry to do, so I'll get back to doing that." She

walked over to the kitchen door. "It was nice to meet you Russ, but I have

to get busy and do the wash."

Russ turned away from the sink and gazed into her violet eyes.

"Okay, it was very nice to meet you. Don't work too hard, okay?" He

winked, causing her to blush slightly.

Aeka went back upstairs to retrieve the mass of clothes while

Azaka and Kamadake went outside to resume their guard duty at the front

gate.

"Well, I must get back to the shrine and get back to work. Make

sure he gets settled in okay, Nobuyuki?"

"Sure thing, Dad. You don't need to worry about anything." He

returned to the couch and picked up his paper.

Yosho turned and walked out of the house, on his way back to the

shrine. He stopped at the foot of the stairs and turned back toward the

house. He couldn't help but wonder about this new guy. Sure, he was nice

and friendly, and he did tell him why he was here, assuming it was truthful.

But he just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to

happen. Yosho sensed his strength, and thought that Russ was just as strong

as he was. He couldn't imagine anybody being stronger. Dismissing any

further thought, he returned to the shrine.

Back inside the house, Russ had just finished washing his hands

and was drying them. He looked over at Sasami who was staring at him the

whole time. He cocked his eyebrow and let out a grunt. Sasami realized

she was staring and looked away.

"Sorry about that. I've never seen anyone as muscular as you

before."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I've been stared at before, but most

people comment about my hair or my eyes." He looked outside at the

bright daylight. "Well, Sasami, I should get to training now. I must stay in

shape, you know."

"Okay then. If you want to come back for lunch, feel free to. I'll

send someone out to get you, if you'll be easy to find."

"Thanks." He turned and walked out the back door while Sasami

continued to watch him. She just couldn't get over how handsome he

looked. She blushed slightly, and went to go help Aeka with the laundry.

Russ stood in the middle of a small clearing he found in the forest.

Turns out it was Tenchi's training area. He took a deep breath, and began

his warm-up exercises. He began with ten thousand push-ups, ten thousand

sit-ups, and then ten thousand pull-ups. Feeling rather light on this planet,

he did all his exercises at twice his normal pace. He tried to keep his ki

suppressed to a reasonable level. He didn't want it getting too high or he

may attract some attention from Yosho or another person who could detect

a ki level.

Completing his warm-up exercises in about four hours, Russ

decided it was time to spar. Taking up his typical defensive stance, he

immediately zanzokened to the other side of the clearing and started a flurry

of punches and kicks. Using his imagination, he pictured Zorpheus dodging

and parrying all of his blows, laughing all the while. Undaunted, Russ

continued his onslaught against his invisible opponent, punching and

kicking at an astounding rate.

Changing his thoughts, he imagined Zorpheus now beginning to

make his own attack, so he practiced dodging at a rapid pace. He leapt into

the air and continued to move from side to side, up and down and all

around. He zanzokened behind the imaginary Zorpheus and re-started his

own offense. His fists resembled dual jackhammers as they moved back

and forth, almost faster than a human eye could see. Zorpheus dodged them

all, and did his own zanzoken behind Russ. He quickly turned and tried to

put a foot in Zorpheus' face, but missed. Russ zanzokened to the ground

again and looked up at his imaginary opponent, deciding that his

imagination just wasn't real enough.

Russ decided to make himself a real sparring partner. He charged

his ki up a bit. "Splitform," he shouted. A moment later, two Russ' were

standing side by side. They turned toward each other, grinned, and

zanzokened to another spot in the clearing.

"You think you're pretty good, don't you? Well, let's see you

dodge this!" He threw a punch at his counterpart, who easily parried the

blow. He started a flurry of punches and kicks, all of which were blocked

or dodged. Getting annoyed, he raised his ki a little more and increased his

speed. He managed to kick his counterpart in the stomach and double axe

handle him to the ground, where he made a small indentation.

Russ stood back up and glared at his opponent. "Oh, can't fight

me on my own level, eh? Fine. I'll come up to yours!" He charged his ki

to match and flew back up to where Russ was still hovering. Staring at him

for a moment, he jumped forward with a kick, trying to nail him in the face.

His counterpart simply nodded his head to the side as the blow sailed

harmlessly by. In return, he tried to bring his arm down onto his leg, but he

zanzokened behind him and again tried to plant a kick into his head, this

time succeeding and smashing him to the ground.

Russ spit out a mouthful of grass and dirt.

His opponent laughed. "You know, only cows and other farm

animals are supposed to eat grass. Did you enjoy it?"

Russ groaned and stood back up again. "Actually, yeah. Here,

why don't you try some?" He zanzokened behind his counterpart and tried

to axe handle him on his head, but hit nothing but air. He looked around

frantically but couldn't find him. Trying to sense where he vanished to, his

danger sense went off like a dozen alarms and he zanzokened to another

position as a flying, ki-enhanced kick sailed through his former position.

Not expecting to miss, his counterpart lost control and smashed into the

ground. Russ started laughing, which only served to get his opponent really

irritated.

He felt his opponent's ki level rise sharply as he charged, once

again getting into a melee of various punches and kicks. Russ had to raise

his own power to match in order to keep up. By now, their ki levels had far

surpassed any Jurai power in existence. And they were barely warmed up.

They continued to spar fiercely, neither gaining any ground on the other.

Yosho felt two tremendous forces nearby. Sitting in shock, he

couldn't believe the amount of energy the two beings were generating. He

hoped Zorpheus wasn't here already. As he felt the two powers dart all

over their battlefield, he noticed something peculiar. Their energy

signatures were identical. Wanting to investigate further, he left the shrine,

quickly heading over to the battleground. It was strange feeling them move

so fast. One moment they were in the air, the next moment they were at

another position, and again they moved all over the area like greased

lightning.

Yosho's Jurai power was low enough for Russ not to notice it,

since he was focused on the task of defeating his opponent. Finally nearing

where he and Tenchi normally train, he could hear the sounds of two

individuals shouting at each other, tossing an insult here and there, and the

sounds of battle. Strange though, he could actually hear real strange noises

from their special techniques coming from that area as well.

Approaching the clearing, he saw Russ and his opponent flash into

view for a moment, and then blur out again. Yosho hid behind a tree and

looked toward the clearing. He could see the two floating in midair,

exchanging insults. He was really surprised. He had no idea they could fly.

This was just getting really weird for him. The coup de grace came after he

got a good look at both people. They were identical! He had no idea what

was going on.

After their insulting match, the dual Russ' again engaged in

combat. A flurry of fists and kicks were exchanged. Yosho could barely

follow it. Their speed was incredible. He had never seen anything like it.

And the amount of energy both were expelling was mind-boggling. Even at

his own maximum power level, he could barely match the energy each

individual was producing. He had a feeling that they didn't need to stop

there either. Just how much energy could they have, anyway?

Finally gathering his wits about him, he stepped out from behind

the tree and advanced to the clearing. Russ noticed some movement under

him and put up his hand to signal his counterpart to cease fighting for a

moment. Glancing down, he saw Yosho standing in the clearing, gesturing

for them to come down to him.

Merging back into one form, Russ landed in front of him. Yosho

noticed that Russ didn't even look like he was battling, aside from his now

dirty clothes. He wasn't winded, wasn't sweating, or even the slightest bit

tired out.

"That was incredible. I never thought you could produce as much

energy as you were. And your speed and ability to fly is also remarkable.

And how in the world did you split into two individual beings? Just what

kind of evil is on it's way here to the planet and how in the world could he

be as strong as you are?" Yosho looked genuinely concerned.

Russ wasn't smiling. "I don't know how long you were there, but

I guess I should reveal a little more about me. The energy you felt from

us... was miniscule. We were just sparring. Our maximum energy level is

hundreds of thousands of times more powerful than that. I have enough

energy to destroy an entire solar system with a single blast. I could destroy

this entire planet with the flick of my pinky finger here. And Zorpheus can

do the same thing." Yosho took a step back and had a look of fear in his

eyes. "But anyway, to answer your other question, I used a special ability

to create a sparring partner. It's called the Splitform technique. It allows

me to create an exact duplicate of myself." He noticed Yosho's look of

horror, and in response, he lowered his ki level to that of a normal human,

and smiled. "Don't worry. I'm going to do my very best to protect this

planet and its people. Don't be afraid of me. I would never do anything to

hurt anyone unless they tried to hurt me first."

Yosho relaxed a little. "Amazing. Totally, completely, absolutely,

amazing. I would've never guessed you could be that powerful. I do trust

you. I felt your energy levels start going through the roof so I thought I'd

come out here and see what was going on."

Russ laughed. "Hopefully you'll never have to see my full power.

I'm still hoping diplomacy will work with Zorpheus, but I have a feeling

that it isn't going to, so I need to train very hard in order to stay ahead of

him. Another problem is the gravity on this planet isn't very high. The last

planet I was at had a gravity level about eight times higher than this planet.

It was great for training. My home world, or rather, where my race

originated from, known as Vegeta, had a gravity of ten times Earth's normal

gravity. That is one of the big secrets behind our strength. However,

Vegeta was destroyed by an evil terror known as Frieza, who was the most

vile, evil villain that had ever existed, although not the most powerful.

However, our race was evil as well, at the time. Ironic, which one of the

most powerful warrior races in the galaxy, was destroyed by another evil,

which at the time controlled us."

Yosho listened with interest. "That's quite an amazing story. So

you're a Saiya-jin from the planet Vegeta, and you're here to defend our

planet against an evil that is just as powerful, if not more so, than you. Tell

me this. What is this treasure, as you so refer to it as? Why is it so

appealing to Zorpheus and not to you?"

Russ swallowed. "I'm afraid I can't tell you what they are, but

they have the power to grant any wish that is within their power. What

Zorpheus is after, is immortality."

Yosho's eyes widened. "You mean to tell me there is something

on this planet that can grant eternal life to whoever wishes for it?"

"That's correct." He sighed. He felt that he could trust Yosho

with just about anything. It was just something about him. "They're known

as Dragonballs. They have the power to call forth a huge magical dragon

that can grant two wishes to whoever summons it."

"Wow. Tell me, you're not immortal?"

"No. I may appear invincible with the enormous amount of

strength and power I possess, but I am not, by any means, invincible or

immortal."

"I see. Well, it's almost lunchtime. Would you care to join me for

a bite to eat back home?"

Russ smiled. "Well, I am a little hungry. I'll do my best to eat in

moderation. I haven't consumed any food for the last nine months during

my long journey from the last planet I was at, also hunting for the location

of the Dragonballs."

"Excellent. Let's go. And you can then meet Washu. I'm sure

she can help you out with your training. Unfortunately, you'll probably

have to reveal some of your secrets to her, like your strength. However, as

far as hiding how much power you do have, is up to you."

"Okay, great. Let's go."

Both Russ and Yosho walked out of the clearing and back toward

the steps, where they walked over to the Misaki home, where lunch was

being prepared.


	3. Chapter 3

Episode 3 - A New Home

Tenchi Muyo and Dragonball Z is owned/copyrighted by their respective companies.

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real attempt at a

fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi TV) and the OVA so

most of the main characters you've seen from there will appear here as well.

It also crosses a bit with Dragonball Z with the existence of Dragonballs

and immensely powerful warriors. Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to

be together, and Aeka is still living at the house for now. You'll see when it

happens. Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right to the

story. Enjoy! Send all hate mail or fan mail to .

Once again, Russ followed Yosho to the Misaki home, his stomach

growling and complaining the whole way. Yosho heard it rumbling away

and he started chuckling. Russ just grinned and blushed from

embarrassment. Yosho had a double take and turned back toward Russ,

noticing he was now in a karate gi, instead of the clothes he originally

showed up in. Russ noticed him looking him over. His gi was green with a

blue undershirt, blue wristbands, and blue boots. His pants were also green,

and he had a blue belt wrapped around his waist. The two symbols on his

clothes were unfamiliar to Yosho.

"I went back to my spaceship before going to that clearing and

grabbed my training clothes. They're light and very strong. They're based

on the clothing of one of the greatest heroes, Goku. Only difference

between his and mine is the color. His favorite was orange, mine is green.

You may not have heard of Goku before. He's been dead for a long, long

time. He saved this planet many times, as his son did by his side, with all of

Goku's friends. They used to be known as the Z fighters. I highly doubt

you'll find anything about them in the Earth based history books though.

Most people nowadays found his trials and feats of great strength too

unbelievable, and therefore in later generations, were left out of most

textbooks. It's unfortunate, but I guess that's the fate of a hero like him.

Plus, you're from Jurai, so I have no idea how much of Earth's history you

do know."

Yosho didn't say anything, but continued to listen in interest.

They made it to the stairway and started their descent.

Russ continued. "The symbols on my clothes are identical to

Goku's as well. I've been trained in the art of Kaioken, which represents

the symbol on my back, and I've also been trained in the ways of the

Earth's guardian, and a man named Master Roshi, which is the symbol on

the front. Unfortunately, Zorpheus also has the same fighting style and

training as I have had. We're about as equal as they get. However, our

ambitions took a sharp turn once we learned of the Dragonballs. He had

this overwhelming urge to become immortal, as I have explained before.

Most evil villains that have existed also had wanted to become immortal,

which is why Goku became such a hero, defending the planet against all the

evil that approached it. Even with his valiant efforts though, one of the

villains, Garlic Junior, actually did become immortal. However,

unfortunately for him, he was careless, and he was sealed away for eternity.

Just knowing that there are things on this planet that can make someone

immortal is why I wanted to keep the Dragonballs a secret. It can make a

good man go bad."

Yosho nodded. "Interesting. Please continue."

"Well anyway, all of the Saiyans were supposed to have been

wiped out when Frieza destroyed Vegeta, our home world. However,

unknown to anyone, except for Prince Vegeta, there was a small group of

Saiyans who had left the planet and traveled far across the galaxy to

colonize another planet. The official record of them leaving was deleted. It

was only a very small group of less than a hundred of them, but from what I

know from history is that they successfully settled and began colonization.

However, most of them were known as the Saiyan rejects. They were, at

the time, weak, lower class warriors. They technically weren't colonists,

but they were just sent off the planet to go do as they wished. They weren't

wanted, and they weren't classified as useful people, so they left. Prince

Vegeta was about to exile them anyway. My great grandparents came from

that world. My parents decided to leave that world and go exploring the

galaxy, and they wound up here at Earth. They didn't know it at the time,

but they later learned that this same planet had the Dragonballs on it, and

that it was Goku's home. After Goku made his sacrifice and the dragon

apparently had told him that no wishes would be granted for about a

hundred years, the Dragonballs once again became only a legend. It seems

that legend has vanished from this planet, but it is real. While I was living

here, I never knew about them. After I had left to go on my own adventure,

I had met Zorpheus, a Human-Saiyan hybrid. We became the best of

friends, and we had done many things together. We even used to go to alien

planets to visit their libraries and stuff like that. That was how we learned

of the Dragonballs. A while after that, when Zorpheus became more and

more obsessive and evil, we wound up going our separate ways. I visited

many more planets, also hunting for the Dragonballs. My search has finally

led me back home. Ironic." Russ looked at the sky with a straight face.

"Wow. That's quite a history. So tell me, do you think you can

stop him?"

"I'm pretty sure I can do it, however, I'll need to continue training

to keep my strength up. He has nearly all the same attacks and techniques I

have, aside from the newer ones I have developed. We basically have

studied the Z fighters' history and have nearly mastered all their special

techniques. Everything from Goku's Kamehameha wave, to Vegeta's Final

Flash attack, and even Piccolo's Splitform technique, plus many, many

more."

"What was that technique you were using to disappear and

reappear to another spot?"

"That's called the Zanzoken, or a 'blur' technique. Basically it

allows me to move extremely quickly to another point close by. It's so fast

it's almost instant, however, its range is limited."

Russ zanzokened behind Yosho, then again in front of him, and

then again above him, and yet again to his original spot. Yosho just looked

on with a look of awe.

"Impressive. Ryoko may make a decent sparring partner for you.

She has a lot of special techniques, including the ability to fire energy from

her hands. She's very strong too."

"Ryoko... oh, the spiky blue haired girl who was hanging on

Tenchi?" Russ grinned. "Maybe. But I hate to say it, when compared to

Zorpheus or myself, or any one of the other Saiyans, she'd be considered to

be a pushover. But if she wants, I'm sure I could train with her or whatever.

I'd have to be careful around here that I don't reveal a whole lot about what

I can really do. I don't want to hurt anybody, accidentally or intentionally.

I hope that Washu person you mentioned can assist me in some way."

Yosho snickered. "She probably could help you out. However,

you best be careful around her. She may be a scientific genius, but her ego

is also huge. She also has a tendency to want to... examine... people from

time to time."

Russ just cocked his eyebrow, wondering what he meant. He

guessed that he'd find out soon enough, as they were now on the front porch

of Tenchi's home. Yosho slid back the door and entered the living room,

with Russ following. Aeka and Sasami were both setting the table, and

upon their arrival, they stopped and looked up.

"Hello again. Yosho here twisted my arm to come eat some lunch

with you guys, if that's not a problem." Russ said, putting a hand behind

his head. Yosho just raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, great! We have plenty to eat so I hope you're good and

hungry!" Sasami smiled warmly as did Aeka. Both of them stared at Russ

when they saw him in his karate gi. He now looked even more handsome

than he did earlier today. They both blushed slightly and looked at each

other, smiling.

Russ noticed it, but assumed they were looking at the dirt smudges

that were on it. He felt a little embarrassed.

"Uh, would you mind if I got a little cleaned up before I sat down

to eat? Is there somewhere where I can take a quick bath?"

"Sure, not at all. Let me grab you a couple towels and a bar of

soap, and you can take a bath in the onsen over the lake," Aeka told him.

"That's your bathroom? Cool. And thanks."

Aeka quickly went to a closet and grabbed two towels, a washrag,

and a bar of soap and returned to the living room.

"Here you go. Follow me and I'll show you how to get inside."

"Okay, thanks again."

They both went outside. Yosho watched them leave, grinning a

little. He could see Aeka was attracted to him, which made himself happy.

He knew Aeka was lonely, and so far, Russ was the best thing that could

happen to her. Sasami just rolled her eyes and returned to the kitchen.

Walking toward the onsen, Aeka looked over at Russ, who was

also glancing at her. Russ immediately looked forward again, causing Aeka

to smile. She really hoped he was available. He was so handsome, and so

far, really friendly and nice.

They reached the edge of the lake when Russ stopped. Aeka

turned and gestured for him to follow.

"Uh, won't we fall into the lake if we keep going?"

Aeka laughed. "No, come on, I'll show you." She took his arm

and pulled him forward, blushing at her own boldness.

Russ just grinned and walked forward. At the moment when he

went to put his foot into the lake, he and Aeka were transported to the onsen

entrance.

"Whoa, cool! Teleportation!" Russ looked behind him and saw he

was pretty high off the ground.

"Come on inside," Aeka said as she pushed open the door. Russ

followed.

"Oh my god, this place is huge! This is your bathroom?" Russ

said, as his voice reverberated around a little. He looked at the large variety

of tropical trees that were inside, he smelled the humid air, and listened to

the sounds of running water. Everything inside was made of wood, except

for the dome over the top of the place. It seemed that it would be very

comfortable and relaxing for him. He smiled and continued to look around.

Aeka felt so happy to see someone behave almost like a child when

he sees something new. It was so cute. She giggled to herself as she

walked over to Russ again.

"You can take a bath in that area over there. That's the men's bath

area" Aeka explained.

"Okay, thank you for allowing me to use this place. I've never

seen anything like it." Russ removed the shirt to his gi. Upon removing his

blue undershirt and revealing his entire upper body, Aeka turned completely

red and her nose started to bleed. She face-faulted onto the floor, but

recovered quickly before Russ noticed. She turned away, breathing heavily.

No man has ever had that effect on her before. She smiled to herself as

Russ finished undressing and then jumped into the water.

She turned back toward him. "When you're finished come on back

to the house for lunch. Almost everybody should be there, and we have lots

to eat, so I hope you're good and hungry."

"Alright. Thanks again." Russ smiled as he watched her walk out

the door. He sighed to himself. All the women in that house were

gorgeous. How Tenchi wound up with a houseful of them was beyond his

comprehension. Anyway, he knew that Aeka found him extremely

attractive. However, Russ decided not to make any advances until he was

absolutely certain that she was the one for him.

Russ quickly scrubbed himself down and hopped out of the water.

He dried himself using his ki, and used the towel to wipe the excess water

out of his mass of hair. Realizing he forgot to bring a change of clothes, he

grabbed his gi and shoved it into the water, rinsing most of the dirt out of it.

Again using his ki, he dried it and put it back on. He looked outside the

onsen and saw Aeka entering the house. Once again hearing his stomach

start complaining, he opened the onsen door and walked out.

"Oh crud, she didn't tell me how to get down from here. Oh well."

Russ used his instantaneous movement ability and teleported himself to the

ground below. He walked quickly back to the house, toward the back door.

Tenchi was finishing his job of weeding the field when he felt his

own stomach rumble a little. He looked up at the sun's position in the sky

and realized it was just about lunchtime. He wiped his brow with the back

of his hand and dumped the last of the carrots he had picked into the basket.

Ryo-Ohki was nearby, darting through the long grasses chasing a

grasshopper. Tenchi watched her try again and again to pounce on that

grasshopper, but she kept missing. He chuckled lightly. Reaching behind

him, he pulled out a carrot and knelt down.

"Here, Ryo-Ohki. You can catch one of these things."

She stopped in her tracks, looked over at Tenchi with her eyes

sparkling with delight. She then raced over and grabbed the carrot and took

off.

"Silly thing. Oh well. It's just about lunchtime so I better get back

to the house. I'm starved!" He knelt down and slid the carrot basket onto

his back and slowly stood up. Once again the basket was heaping over with

carrots. Ryo-Ohki noticed him lifting the basket so she transformed into her

human form to help. She came up behind Tenchi and steadied him.

"Thank you. This thing keeps getting heavier every time I lift it.

Well, let's go! Sasami has lunch waiting for us."

Ryo-Ohki meowed a couple times and did her best to help Tenchi

carry the basket of carrots home. While Tenchi wasn't watching, she

quickly swiped another carrot and ate it.

Tenchi grunted. "I heard that. No more carrots until we get home

or you'll spoil your dinner. Now let's go."

Ryo-Ohki just sighed to herself and looked around. Not finding

anything of interest, she continued to help Tenchi with the basket.

Washu was frantically typing away at her holographic laptop

computer, trying to get a mess of data that she collected entered. After she

had eaten breakfast earlier in the day, she resumed her frenzy at the

computer, still really tired from the previous night. Her stomach croaked

lightly, letting her know it was time for a refuel. She sighed and lay back

on her cushion, swiveling around in a circle. She looked out past her

platform at the plethora of plant life she had surrounded her area in. She

stood up and walked toward the door, which appeared when she got close to

it.

Walking through it, she found herself back in the Misaki home, but

something was very strange. She could sense a massive ki outside the

house. She cocked her eyebrow a little, and walked over to the sliding glass

door in the living room. The ki level was higher than anything she has ever

felt, including herself. Aeka was outside on her way in. However, she

didn't sense that power coming from her. She looked at Aeka with

curiosity.

Aeka noticed it. "Is something wrong, Miss Washu?"

She looked over at the onsen, almost ignoring Aeka's question.

Aeka turned around to see what Washu was staring at, and figured

it was the onsen. Realizing that Washu didn't meet Russ earlier, she turned

back toward her. "Our new visitor is taking a bath. He'll be back here very

shortly to eat lunch with us. He's met everybody already except for you."

"Oh really... Why didn't anybody come and get me? I'm a part of

this family too you know." Washu glared at her.

"Sorry, but we just figured you were busy. You also looked very

tired at the table for breakfast today."

"Well, you're right on both counts. Oh well, I'll meet him in a few

moments. Lets get some lunch! I'm hungry." They turned and walked

toward the table.

Washu looked up and saw Ryoko, asleep on the beam again. She

walked over to the couch, grabbed one of the pillows, and taking careful

aim, she lobbed it at Ryoko, nailing her square in the face. However,

Ryoko only slightly stirred, and didn't wake up. Destined to try again, and

snickering evilly to herself, she opened her telepathic link with Ryoko.

"RYOKO!" Washu shouted at her telepathically. Ryoko flew up

into the air, smacked into the ceiling, and fell to the floor. She groaned as

she got to her feet and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Why did you do that mom? That was really rude." Ryoko looked

quite annoyed.

"How much do you need to sleep anyway? You don't do

anything! Besides, it's lunchtime now so take a seat at the table." Washu

felt a little better. Ryoko just grumbled and plopped down in her usual spot.

"Where's Tenchi? Isn't he back yet?" Ryoko looked around the

living room and around the table.

"He should be back very shortly. Ryo-Ohki is with him too."

Ryoko sighed. "Oh, alright. Well anyway, what's for lunch? I'm

starving!"

"Who knows? You eat everything that isn't running too fast

anyway!" Everybody except Ryoko started laughing. Ryoko however,

turned red.

"Bah! Who needs you anyway!" Ryoko folded her arms and

turned away.

"Oh, I'm sorry little Ryoko. Did mommy tease you a little?"

Ryoko glared at Washu. She couldn't stand it when her mother got

really tired because it usually meant she was going to be picked on. She

sighed and looked out the window.

Sasami entered the dining area with two plates filled with food.

Everybody at the table had their mouths start watering as they gave various

complements to the master chef.

"There's more than that. I'll be right back," she said as she

returned to the kitchen. A moment later, she returned with two more

heaping plates of food.

"This should be enough to feed everybody." She looked around

the table and noticed a few people were missing. "Where are Tenchi and

Russ? And what about Kiyone and Mihoshi? And father?"

Yosho looked over at Sasami. "Tenchi should be home in a

moment. Kiyone and Mihoshi are both asleep since they have that early

morning patrol shift tomorrow. Russ is taking a bath so I assume he'll be

here in a few minutes. And Nobuyuki is at work today."

"Oh. I guess I made a little too much food. I was expecting

Kiyone and Mihoshi along with Russ and father here at the table. Well, I

guess we'll have leftovers for a little while then."

"I highly doubt that," Russ said as he stepped into the house. All

eyes turned toward him as he grinned.

Washu nearly fell backwards when she saw him. Her eyes

sparkled and her heart started pounding. She quickly stood up and flashed

over to his side and grabbed his arm.

"Hi, I'm Washu. I presume you're Russ? Pleased to meet you."

She gave him a big hug.

"I uh... I mean uh... nice to meet you too." Russ had a real

confused look on his face as he started to perspire.

Aeka grabbed Washu. "Go sit down, little Washu, and eat your

lunch," Aeka said through clenched teeth.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing will be the matter if you go sit down and eat your lunch.

Get me?" Aeka looked quite mad. The vein popping out of her head made

her look even more furious.

Washu got the message. "Okay, okay, you win." She looked back

at Russ, who still looked confused. Damn, was he good looking! Washu

returned to her seat at the table.

Russ finally snapped out of it. "Well, where should I sit?"

Aeka gestured to a cushion to her side. "Come sit over here,

Russ."

"Okay. Wow, that food looks pretty good." His stomach once

again made a loud croaking noise. Everybody stared at him as Russ started

laughing. "I guess I'm more hungry than I thought."

"Yeah, no kidding. Sounds like your stomach is going to eat you if

you don't feed it." Ryoko smirked.

Tenchi slid back the kitchen door and entered the dining area with

a bunch of plates. He looked around the table and saw everybody there. He

smiled in acknowledgement and he set the plates down in the middle of the

table. Ryoko grabbed him and pulled him down to his seat.

"Come on, Ryoko. I still have to get the chopsticks and napkins."

"Don't worry, Tenchi, I've already gotten them," Sasami said, as

she put the utensils on the table. Russ glanced at the chopsticks with a

worried expression.

"I've never used chopsticks before. I'll be right back. I'm going

to my ship to grab my spork." Russ stood up and walked to the middle of

the living room. He snickered. Everybody turned toward him.

"Watch this." He put two fingers to his forehead and vanished. A

moment later, he reappeared with his spork in hand. Everybody's jaw

dropped except for Yosho's. Washu narrowed her eyes a little after

recovering from her initial shock. Ryoko did the same. Aeka, Sasami, and

Tenchi all still had a dumbfounded look on their face.

Russ took his seat beside Aeka again and laid his spork down on

the table. Everybody continued to stare at him.

"What? That was the easiest thing to do and the quickest. Well,

let's eat!"

Everybody reached for a plate, chopsticks, and a napkin. They all

started picking out the foods they wanted and set them on their plates. Russ

just waited until everybody was finished and then grabbed one of the plates

and dumped half the food that was left on his own plate. Russ started to

chow down as everybody slowly stopped and stared at him. Even Ryoko.

They couldn't believe how fast he was eating. Russ devoured everything on

his plate in less than a minute.

"Yum! This stuff is great!" He patted his stomach, which wasn't

satisfied. It croaked again. "Oh boy. Do you think I can have seconds?"

"Sure, go ahead. You can have the rest that's on the table." Yosho

smiled.

"Are you sure? Don't any of you guys want more?"

Ryoko grabbed one of the plates and dumped a little more food

onto her own. Everybody else shook his or her head. Russ reached over

and grabbed the second plate, dumping the food onto his own, and inhaling

that stuff in less than a minute. He grabbed the third plate and ate

everything off of it. Russ eyeballed the last plate.

"Could somebody pass that last plate of food over there?"

Everybody started perspiring, but Aeka handed him the food. Russ ate it all

in a few moments.

Russ let out a huge belch that rattled the windows. "Ahhh! That

stuff was fantastic! Who made all of it?"

Ryoko looked at Russ. "Wow, that's a lot of belching power you

have there." Russ turned red.

"Sorry about that. That was rather rude."

Sasami smiled. "I made all that food. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Really? You're a great cook. I'm impressed. I can cook some

foods too. I'll have to learn how to make some of the stuff you do and I'll

show you some of the stuff I've eaten before."

"That'd be great!" Sasami smiled.

Everybody continued to stare at Russ. They had barely touched

their food since they were all staring at him almost the entire time. Ryoko

ate everything on her plate though. She couldn't believe someone had an

appetite larger than her own.

"This guy is going to eat us out of house and home if we're not

careful," Ryoko mumbled to herself.

"Now, now, Ryoko. He's a guest here. It won't do us any good to

have him starve to death." Yosho whispered over to her.

"How could he starve to death eating that much food," she shot

back.

Russ noticed them whispering back and forth. "Don't worry too

much. I don't eat every single day. I eat a ton of food about every two or

three days and that's enough to satisfy me for that long. If I eat something

smaller, then I just eat more often."

Ryoko looked back to him. "Well, I guess that's okay. I do,

however, have you to thank for moving in with us, since now I can share a

room with my Tenchi." She grabbed him in a hug and snuggled up close

with him.

"Ryoko, stop it! Come on, go sit over there." Tenchi tried to push

her off but she held on tight.

Everybody except Russ ignored them, since that was a common

sight for them. Russ just watched with mild interest.

Everybody finished his or her lunch shortly thereafter. Sasami

sighed as she picked up all the chopsticks and napkins and started piling the

dirty dishes in a stack. Ryoko floated back up to her beam, and Aeka stood

up and left the room. Yosho walked out of the house on his way back to the

shrine.

"Can I help you with the dishes, Sasami?" Russ asked.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you very much! Just

grab that stack of dishes and bring them into the kitchen."

"Okay." He watched Sasami leave the living room. Washu was

still sitting at the table, staring at him with a smile.

"I need to talk to you in a bit, okay, Washu? I'm hoping you can

help me out with something."

"Sure. Just come into my lab when you're ready, alright?"

"Great! Where's it at?"

"Over there," she said, pointing at the closet door. Russ scratched

his head, but decided not to argue.

"Um, okay. See you in a few minutes."

Washu snickered to herself as she opened the door and walked

inside. Russ sighed and grabbed the dishes and carried them into the

kitchen.

Sasami was at the counter wiping it down. She turned toward him

as he entered.

"Just put them here in the sink and I'll take care of it, okay?"

"Oh, that's okay. I'll wash them and put them away too. I may be

a guest here, but I'll also be living here for a while. I can't be a total

freeloader."

Sasami's mouth dropped, but she smiled in her cutest way.

"Thanks. Really, only my sister and I take care of the house. Nobody else

does much of anything. Tenchi takes care of the field and whatever else

needs to be done, I cook, and my sister does whatever else that we don't

do."

"Ahhh, I see. Well, I'll help out as much as I can."

Russ and Sasami quickly cleaned up the mess, and then Russ

returned to the living room. He looked at the closet door that Washu said

her lab was in. He walked up to it and pushed the door open and stepped

inside. Now in some sort of very short hallway, he opened the second door

that was at the end of the hallway and stepped inside this huge room,

surrounded in bright light with an abundance of plant life.

He saw Washu sitting on a cushion in front of her computer. After

entering, he knocked lightly on the door to get her attention. She swiveled

toward him.

"Hi there, Washu. Can I speak to you?"

"Sure, come on over here. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I need a favor. I know I'm new, and I just met you about twenty

minutes ago and I don't have any right to ask you this..."

"It's okay," Washu interrupted. "What is it you need?"

"Well, okay. Everybody said you were the scientific genius of the

house, so I figured you'd be my best bet. I need a room where I can adjust

the gravity in it. I need it for training. The gravity on this planet is way too

light to get any kind of good workout on it."

"I see. I think I can accommodate you there. But first..." she

snapped her fingers. "I'm going to need to examine you a little."

Russ started perspiring as a black globe appeared behind him and

released a bunch of arms that grabbed him. He yelped in surprise.

"What is this thing?"

"Don't worry, I'm just going to run a few tests on you. Strictly

medical." She snickered evilly as the machine removed his clothes, except

for his underpants. She got a good look as his physique and she turned red.

"Oh my, aren't you a strong one," she said as she walked up to him

with a pair of surgical gloves.

"Uh oh," he said, as she walked forward. This must be what

everybody was talking about. "Help me!" He yelled as she laughed

manically.


	4. Chapter 4

Ep 4 - The Hunt

Tenchi Muyo and Dragonball Z is owned/copyrighted by their respective companies.

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real attempt at a

fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi TV) and the OVA so

most of the main characters you've seen from there will appear here as well.

It also crosses a bit with Dragonball Z with the existence of Dragonballs

and immensely powerful warriors. Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to

be together, and Aeka is still living at the house for now. You'll see when it

happens. Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right to the

story. Enjoy! Send all hate mail / fan mail to .

"No... please don't... I don't know where the Dragonballs are.

I've never even heard of them until you brought them up! Please let me

go!" The hapless victim continued to struggle against the iron grip

Zorpheus had around his neck.

"Well, gee, that's too bad. That means you're useless to me. Get

out of my face." Zorpheus took the man and flung him into a brick wall,

where the man smashed his head against it. His lifeless body crumpled to

the ground. "Aw dammit, I didn't want to do that. Oh well. Better not

leave a mess." Zorpheus raised his hand and fired a small ki blast,

vaporizing the man's body. The crowd that gathered around Zorpheus in

the street was growing in size. Many people were watching him in

complete terror. Sirens wailed in the distance.

Zorpheus looked back to the crowd. "Do any of you people know

about the Dragonballs?" The crowd all gasped in fear. "If you divulge

what I want, I'll leave." Nobody made a move toward him, but there were a

few people who whispered to each other. Zorpheus waited a few more

moments, and then started losing his patience. "Do any of you morons

know about the Dragonballs? This is the last time I'm asking." The crowd

began to back away. Nobody came forward.

"Dammit," Zorpheus muttered to himself. He scratched his mass

of black hair with his prosthetic right hand and then turned away from the

crowd. Placing two fingers to his forehead, he transported himself to

another city many miles away. The crowd continued to chatter amongst

themselves as half a dozen squad cars arrived. Police officers jumped out

of their cars and looked around. Several people from the crowd came up to

the officers.

"What's going on here? What happened?"

A young girl walked up to the officer. "There was a man here a

moment ago. He just vanished after killing someone. He said he was

looking for something called Dragonballs."

The officer knelt down. "Can you tell us what he looked like?"

"Yes. We all got a good look at him. He was pretty tall, about six

feet tall. He was wearing a blue cloak, heavy black army type boots, and a

large belt around his waist. He was very muscular, and had a couple of

implants on him too. His entire right arm was artificial, at least I think it

was, and one of his eyes looked strange. It kept making little noises as it

moved. His other eye had a red iris. His hair was tall and black too."

The officer was busy scribbling all of this information down on his

notepad. "Do you know anything else? Was he carrying any weapons?"

A young boy came out of the crowd. "No, he didn't have any

weapons, but he somehow fired a blue ball of energy from his hand,

vaporizing the person. He seemed incredibly strong too. If you look at that

wall over there, you can see a crack running through it now. That happened

after that stranger threw the man into it."

Walking over to the wall, the officer examined it, and noticed a

few bloodstains on it. He called another officer over and told him to take a

few samples of blood to have them analyzed. He turned back toward the

young boy and girl from the crowd. "Is there anything else we should know

about?"

"That's all we were able to hear," said the young girl. "He just put

two fingers to his head and vanished. We have no idea which way he

went."

The officer cocked his eyebrow slightly. "Okay. Thanks for all

your help. Do you need a ride home? One of my officers will be glad to

give you a lift."

"No thanks, I just live right over there." The girl pointed to a set

of apartments that were just down the street.

The officer smiled. "Okay, thanks again for your help. Now run

along home." The little girl smiled and ran off. The boy also turned and

ran off with her. The officer turned back toward the other policemen who

were mostly standing around, making sure the crowd didn't get out of

control. He sighed, and walked over to his car and got on the radio.

"Dispatch, this is Murphy," he said as he keyed the radio.

"Go ahead."

"We've had some sort of fight here on Melphia Street. We have

one victim, unidentified. The man who did this did not mention any name,

but we do have a description."

"Okay. Come back to the station and fill out a report."

"Yes ma'am. We need to keep a lid on this."

"Roger that."

Murphy sighed to himself. He turned back toward the other

officers. "Hey guys, I need to head back to the station. Take care of

everything here, okay?"

One of the lackeys turned. "Yes sir. We'll be fine here."

Murphy started the car and took off. "Today is going to be a long

day." Reaching over to his briefcase, he pulled out a scouter. "I never

thought I'd have a reason to use one of these things again." He put it over

his left ear, as it stuck itself to his head. He pushed the button and the

scouter came to life. It did a quick self-diagnostic, and then started

scanning. It found a ki signature many miles off. It started to calculate a

power level, but it displayed ERROR on the little window. A second later,

the scouter overloaded and then exploded. Slamming on the brakes to his

car from the shock, Murphy jumped out and brushed the debris out of his

seat. "Holy cow. These scouters are supposed to be able to measure a ki

level of up to ten million. How can anybody have more power than that?"

His hands started shaking. He quickly got back into his car, hit the siren,

and drove like a madman back to the station to warn everybody.

Zorpheus appeared on top of a large building. Walking over to the

edge, he looked down and read a sign that was on the ground. It said,

"Public Library." Smiling at his dumb luck, he moved to another wall of

the library, which had an alleyway running along the side. He jumped off

the roof and landed lightly on his feet. Coming around to the front, he went

inside. The place was quite massive. Books of all types were lined up all

along the walls and there were many rows of shelves loaded with books too.

Walking over to the librarian's desk, which was currently vacant, he stood

quietly and waited for his or her return. He didn't wait long, since she was

nearby, stocking the shelves with returned books. She walked back to her

desk and sat down.

She studied him for a moment. "Hello. Can I help you with

anything?"

"I hope so. I'm looking for some books on a specific type of

history. Do you know if this library has any books on the history of the

Saiyans?"

"I'm not sure, but you can have a look at that computerized card

catalog over there. You can search for books by title, author, or subject.

You can get pretty specific with it too."

Zorpheus looked to his right and saw the terminal. "Okay, thanks

a lot." He walked over to the terminal and sat down. The librarian stared at

him until he sat down, then she got up and resumed putting the books back

on the shelves, occasionally glancing over at him. His clothes were really

out of the ordinary.

Zorpheus had been to several dozen libraries in the past, and had

found nothing on the Saiyans. However, most planets that he has visited

were not even capable of interstellar flight. No spaceships, no

extraterrestrial communications equipment, no nothing. This planet also

didn't have anything of that sort, so his expectations were low.

Looking at the screen and taking the mouse in his right hand, he

clicked on the subject field and entered the word, "Saiyan." A moment later

two results came up. He started to perspire, but decided to take a look at

both books. Grabbing a slip of paper and a pencil that were nearby, he

wrote down their catalog numbers and stood up. He was fortunate to get

that many results. He felt a little excited, so he quickly walked down the

aisles in search of the books. Reaching where the first book was located, he

searched up and down for it. However, the book wasn't there. Determined,

he looked for it a second time. Once again, he came up empty. He growled

to himself and then went to look for the second book. Walking to another

aisle, he stopped where the book was located. This time he smiled when he

found a rather thick, old, dusty book, which was titled, "Vegeta - Planet of

the Apes." He scowled at the title, but he walked over to a table and sat

down. Flipping through a couple of pages and reading a couple chapter

titles, he noticed one that caught his eye. It said, "Known Super Saiyans."

Quickly thumbing to that chapter, he started reading. It mentioned how

often Super Saiyans were born, and it listed names of known Super Saiyans.

Some of the last entries included Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, Goten, Bra,

and Pan. It also listed where they lived. Earth. Zorpheus raised an

eyebrow in curiosity. Why in the world were so many Super Saiyans on

planet Earth? There isn't anything special about that planet... is there?

Zorpheus started feeling anticipation. He decided to depart for Earth as

soon as possible. He took the book to the desk and set it down, then walked

outside to the alleyway. He put two fingers to his forehead and teleported

himself to his spacepod. Opening it up and setting down inside of it, he

keyed the commands to activate the computer.

"Computer Ready." It responded in its feminine voice.

"Computer, how long will it take to get from this planet to planet

Earth, non stop?"

No response. Zorpheus slapped his head and configured the

computer for voice commands.

"Voice commands ready."

"Computer, how long will it take to get from this planet to planet

Earth, non stop?"

"Approximately ten months."

"Okay. Plot a course for Earth and depart."

"Affirmative." The ship started rumbling a little as the engines

were engaged. The spacepod then shot up through the atmosphere at break-

neck speed leaving a white vapor trail as it adjusted its course toward the

Earth.

"About a year to wait for immortality, assuming the Earth has the

Dragonballs." Zorpheus had a huge grin on his face. "Nothing can stop me

now." His laughing rang out inside the spacepod as it hurtled through

space.

"Washu, what exactly are you going to do to me?" Russ said,

squirming against the restraints.

"Well, I need to take some blood samples first." Washu produced

a syringe and an alcohol pad from her pocket. Russ looked at the needle

with horror.

"What?! A needle?!?! I'm not sick! I don't need a needle! Get

away from me with that thing!" Russ started kicking against the restraining

globe, trying to break free without tearing it to pieces. Washu stopped in

her tracks and started to perspire.

"Don't worry, you won't feel a thing." She said softly and with a

smile.

"Yeah right! That's what they all say! Get this thing to release me

right now!"

"Oh, quit your bellyaching. You'll be fine." Washu walked up to

Russ and rubbed his arm with the alcohol pad. However, Russ was going to

have no part of it, as he ripped the left restraint right off of the globe. He

reached over with his free hand and broke the hand that was holding his

other arm. He did the same for the ones holding his legs. Washu just

looked on in shock. Nobody should've been able to break out of those

restraints!

Russ grabbed his clothes and quickly put them on. "Tell me how

to get out of here. I don't need your help if this is what you're going to do

to me." Russ was really mad. Doing things like that was a big mistake with

him.

Washu frowned. "Okay, you win. I won't do anything without

your permission first, okay? Will that be good enough?"

Russ calmed down a little. "Don't you dare try to restrain me like

that again. I don't know where you got it in your mind that you could do

that to someone, but don't do it to me."

"Tenchi never minded it. That's just a device that I use to examine

people. It can do a lot, but it can't take the place of solid samples like a

blood sample. It can do hair samples and other physical samples. It can

determine certain layer patterns, among other things." Washu looked over

at her machine, which was now a wreck. "I guess I have to fix that up now

for the next time I need it."

"Humph. Sorry about wrecking it, but I can't stand needles. Also,

next time, tell me when you're going to use that globe thing and I should be

more cooperative, instead of having it sneak up behind me like that."

"Okay, you have a deal." Washu smiled. "Would you mind

answering a few questions for me?"

Russ folded his arms. "What do you want to know?"

"What race are you?"

"My race is known as Saiya-jin, or Saiyan."

Washu looked at him with surprise. "Are you serious? You're a

true, full-blooded Saiyan? I thought that race was extinct!"

"It almost was, but that's a long story. How in the world did you

know about Saiyans?"

"Wow, okay. Well, that explains your extraordinary strength."

Washu looked at his waist and ignored his question. "Could you turn

around? Do you have a tail?"

"No I don't. That was cut off a long time ago and has never grown

back."

"Oh, okay. How strong are you?"

"I am very strong."

Washu smiled a little. "Aww, can't you be more specific?"

Russ looked at her, and tried to judge her ki level. "Well, I can

sense your ki level. But to put it simply, my own ki level is way higher than

you'd ever imagine."

"I don't know. I can imagine quite a bit. I've got a machine over

here that can tell me how much ki you have. Would you mind if I used it to

scan you?"

Russ looked at her. "As long as it doesn't require me to remove

my clothes or poke needles into me."

Washu laughed. "No, nothing like that." She walked over to the

machine and started it up. "I'll have it scan me first." She pushed a button

and focused the targeting scanner on herself. It hummed a moment, and

then gave a number. "Seven thousand, nine hundred, sixty five. Not bad."

Russ looked at her for a moment. "She must be using a different

scale than we do. From what I can sense, she'd only be about a hundred at

best," Russ muttered to himself.

"Now, it's your turn." She started to focus the machine's scanner

on Russ. Russ quickly lowered his power level to that of a normal human.

Washu looked over at Russ the moment he did that. The machine hummed

a moment, and then gave a number again. "You're only at about thirty five.

You should be much higher than that. Weird though, it felt like the energy

you were producing just vanished."

"It did. I'm suppressing my ki. Unfortunately, machines like that

can be fooled quite easily. You also seem to use a different scale to

measure ki levels. I also have a ki detector, called a scouter. It's a little

portable device that can give a number according to how much energy a

person can produce."

"That explains the strange sensation I felt before I started scanning.

Interesting."

"Strange how you can also sense a ki level. I thought only Yosho

could do that." Russ cocked his eyebrow slightly and leaned up against a

machine that was nearby.

"Yes, it's one of the traits I have. It's not very useful, but hey, it's

there. Would you mind bringing your scouter over here? I'd love to take a

look at it."

"I suppose. Just don't break it or anything. I've only got two of

them."

"I'm not going to break anything. I'm a genius! Geniuses don't

break things, we fix them and make them better!" Washu grinned from ear

to ear.

Russ shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, I'll bring it over in a little bit.

Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"There are a million things I'd love to know about you." Washu

blushed a little. "Are you available?"

Russ slid off the machine he was leaning on and toppled to the

floor. He quickly stood back up, blushing all the while. "I um... I don't

have a girlfriend, if that's what you're asking. But you're too young for me,

and honestly, I'm not interested in a relationship right now. I have more

important things to do first."

Washu looked disappointed. "Okay. Besides, Aeka looks to be

very attracted to you at the moment. She's had a lot of bad luck with men.

She has been, more or less, dumped twice. On Jurai, she was to marry her

half brother, Yosho." Russ looked on with interest. "And again, she was

rejected by Tenchi in favor of Ryoko."

Russ looked down to the floor. "I'm sorry to hear that. However,

I cannot get involved in a relationship right now. I may at a later time. I

don't mind being friends with everybody, but a relationship is currently out

of the question."

"Why?"

Russ sighed. "You were all told that I'm here on vacation, but in

reality, I'm here to defend the Earth against someone who wants something

on it. This cannot be allowed. I can't get more specific than that. I'm

sorry." Russ looked up into Washu's green eyes. "I could be killed."

Washu looked worried. "Okay, everybody has secrets that they'd

like to keep. So anyway, you want a gravity room to train in, right?"

"Yeah, something like that. If possible, do you think you could

make a portable version? One that I can wear on my arm or something that

only affects the gravity around me?"

"Oh, I think I can. It'll take some work, but we'll see what I can

come up with."

"Okay, wonderful! Thanks a lot, Washu." Russ smiled.

"One more thing Russ."

"What's that?"

"Please call me little Washu, alright?" Russ' eyes bulged a

moment, and then he started laughing.

"Yes ma'am." He turned around to leave the lab, snickering to

himself.

Ryoko was snoozing peacefully on the beam in the living room.

After lunch, she had grown quite sleepy so she felt like taking a nap.

Feeling rested, she finally stirred and woke up. She sat up and rubbed the

sleep from her eyes once more, yawned and stretched, and glanced around

the room. Nobody was in the living room with her, so she decided to take it

upon herself to get her things moved into Tenchi's room. Since it was

something she really wanted, she felt ambitious enough to take care of it

herself. She floated through a couple walls and landed with a light thud in

her room. It was late afternoon now, but there was still plenty of light

filtering in through her window. She groaned to herself when she actually

took a look at the mess she left in her room. It appeared as if a tornado, a

hurricane, and an earthquake hit the room all at once. Various items of

sorts were piled on her desk, her bed was a wreck from the night before, and

her other various belongings including clothes were strewn all over the

floor.

"Oh man, what a mess. I know what would make this easy

though." She smiled and used telekinesis to lift everything at once. The

mass of clothes and other items came up off the floor and off the furniture.

Ryoko floated up into the air a little, and she and the mass of items floated

out of the room. A moment later, she reached Tenchi's room, and she

floated through the doorway. Tenchi was inside, working at his desk. He

turned around in surprise.

"Ryoko! What are you doing?"

The mass of clothes and other things dropped to the floor when

Ryoko broke her concentration. "I'm moving in! What did you expect?"

She looked insulted.

"Oh man, what a mess. It's going to take us a few hours to put this

stuff away." Tenchi stood up and walked over to Ryoko. She grabbed him

in a hug.

"Don't worry about it. We have all the time in the world to put

this stuff away." She squeezed him tightly.

"Okay, okay. Geez. Well, lets start putting it away anyway. I

don't like having a huge mess of stuff to trip over in the morning."

Ryoko groaned and released Tenchi. "Oh, okay. Do you have

enough closet space for my clothes?"

"I think so." He walked over to his closet and slid the door open.

"Yeah, there's plenty of space in here. Well, hand me your clothes and I'll

hang them up."

"Okay." She walked over to the mass of clothes, picked them all

up, and tossed them all at Tenchi at once.

"Whoa!" He yelled as he was bombarded with all her clothes.

"Ryoko! Come on, use some common sense."

Ryoko started cracking up while looking at him. Tenchi had some

of her undergarments on his head, which made him look totally ridiculous.

Realizing how he must've appeared, he smiled and laughed too. One at a

time, Tenchi hung her clothes in his closet. He was careful to hang the

lightweight stuff on one side and her heavier stuff on the other. Ryoko

watched him dreamily.

"You could help you know. Why not put away some of that other

stuff you brought along?" Tenchi said, pointing to the mess of magazines

and cosmetics that were lying on the floor.

Ryoko sighed, but grabbed all her magazines up in a neat pile and

set them on Tenchi's bookcase. She then picked up the rest of her items

and put them on his desk, trying to bring some order to the chaos she was

causing. She looked pitifully at Tenchi, who in turn just smiled and

snickered. Finally finishing hanging all of Ryoko's clothes in his closet, he

came over to her and helped her sort the mess she made on his desk. Her

cheeks turned rosy as she smiled and leaned against him. Tenchi smiled as

she did that.

"Thank you Tenchi."

"You're welcome. What do you say we go talk to Washu about

getting us a bigger bed?"

"I'd like that. Let's go." Ryoko took Tenchi's hand in her own as

they left his room.

After several hours, Aeka had finally finished the monster load of

laundry that needed to be done. She had sorted everybody's clothes and

piled them into separate laundry baskets, and had cleaned up the washing

machine. She placed them at the back porch for everybody to come get

their own basket. She sighed in relief. Sasami had stopped helping her a

while ago to go take care of something else that required her attention.

Finally free of her chores, she started walking toward the stairway that led

up to the shrine. It was now fairly late in the day, with the sun setting over

the mountains. She walked slowly, lost in thought. A soft meow was heard

behind her, causing her to turn around.

"Hello Ryo-Ohki. Do you want to take a walk with me?" She

said, smiling. Ryo-Ohki meowed in return and bounded up by Aeka's feet.

She started up the stairs, occasionally slowing down and admiring the

natural beauty she was surrounded in. She wished Tenchi would take these

walks with her. She felt so lonely at times. She looked down at the cabbit

as it lightly bounced beside her. She smiled, and then looked off to the

setting sun, letting her mind wander. She wondered about her existence,

about why she was alone, with no companion to stay by her side, to hold her

when she was feeling down, and to love her as a woman. She thought about

Tenchi and Ryoko, and how happy both seemed to be together, as they

laughed and had a good time with each other.

Aeka took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's such a

beautiful evening." Ryo-Ohki meowed in agreement. They both continued

to slowly walk up the stairs, finally coming to the path where Tenchi's

training area was located, just a little deeper into the forest. She stopped

and looked at the worn path for a moment, remembering the first time she

walked down it. She remembered sneaking up on Tenchi and Yosho as

they dueled with their wooden swords, and that was when she smiled and

laughed for the second time since her arrival on planet Earth. After Tenchi

had swung his sword at the dangling stick and Yosho warned him about

losing his footing, Tenchi slipped and fell over. Yosho then told him that

he still stunk. Aeka giggled again at remembering that, but her feelings

turned somber again as she thought about Tenchi and Ryoko. She knew

she'd eventually have to let him go. She started down the path, looking at

the variety of flowers that lined both sides as Ryo-Ohki continued to follow.

Aeka finally approached the training area, and caught by surprise,

she saw Russ standing in the middle of it, looking off into the distance. She

quickly darted behind a tree as Ryo-Ohki looked on curiously. Russ took a

deep breath, and then blurred out of sight. Aeka quickly looked around the

clearing, but didn't see him. She then looked up, and saw Russ hovering

above the trees. She watched with awe as he started a flurry of punches and

kicks, moving so fast that she could barely see him. He then blurred out

again and reappeared on the ground, continuing his exercise. She couldn't

believe what she was seeing. Who was this guy? How in the world could

he move so fast? Not even Ryoko could do what he was performing. She

continued to watch in amazement as he moved all over the training area,

punching, kicking, and performing all sorts of martial arts. It was truly

incredible to watch. She continued to observe him for a few more minutes

as he finally came to a stop in the middle of the clearing again. He wasn't

even breathing hard. Finally gathering her wits about her, she stepped out

from behind the tree.

"Um, Russ?" Aeka said quietly. Russ nearly jumped out of his

skin when she came up behind him, unnoticed.

"Oh! Aeka! You scared the daylights out of me." He calmed

down a bit and grinned. "I was hoping to keep this a secret from

everybody, but it doesn't look like I'm doing that good of a job. First

Yosho discovers me, then Washu found out about me, and now here you

are." He laughed. Ryo-Ohki bounded up to both of them and meowed a

few times. Russ smiled at her.

"That was amazing. How can you move so fast? How can you fly

too?"

"Well, my speed is relative to my ki level. What you saw there,

for me, was actually quite slow. You could just barely see my arms and

legs, right? I can actually move much faster than that. And as far as me

flying, that's a special ability I learned many years ago when I learned to

control my ki."

"I see. I also have some ability with my Jurai power. I can make a

forcefield that can deflect just about anything that hits it."

"Really? Can I see?"

"Sure." Aeka took a few steps back and threw her arms to her side

as a dome of energy surrounded her. She looked up at Russ and smiled.

"That's pretty useful." He walked up to it and rested his hand on it

and put a little pressure on it. Aeka winced a little as she strained to keep

the shield up. Russ noticed it and then pressed a little harder. Aeka took a

deep breath and continued to hold the shield against his hand. Russ then put

a whole lot more pressure on the shield, which caused Aeka to waver. He

stopped after seeing that. Aeka dropped her shield as she breathed heavily.

"Wow, that was just your hand. You must be very strong. That

shield can repel most anything that touches it as long as my Jurai power

holds out." Aeka slowed her breathing down a bit and relaxed, giving her

exhausted body a break.

Russ watched her curiously. "If you want, I can teach you some

other tricks with ki. I can teach you to fly, and I can also help you to get

stronger."

Aeka looked into Russ' black eyes and smiled. "Could you really

do that?"

"Yeah. It takes some practice, but I'm sure we could each teach

something to the other."

Aeka continued to smile as she looked at him. He was so nice and

friendly, and was already looking to help others. He didn't seem lazy at all,

and not only that, he sure was nice to look at. She blushed a little upon

thinking that. She didn't feel as lonely as she stood across from him, as he

smiled back.

Russ noticed her looking at him with rosy cheeks and realized she

must be thinking of something along the lines of a date. "Aeka, what are

you thinking about," he asked, softly.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I was just thinking about how nice and friendly

you are."

"Listen. I don't want to break your heart or anything of that sort,

so I figured I might as well tell you now before you start getting any ideas.

I'm not looking for a relationship." Aeka's heart dropped like a ton of

bricks. Her facial expression changed slightly, to one of sadness. "At least,

not now. I need to keep focused about the task at hand." Aeka's heart

continued to slip into depression, but she managed a fake smile.

"That's okay. I understand." She sniffled a little and turned away.

Russ never expected that. He suddenly felt guilty at saying what he did. He

walked over to her and carefully turned her around, then put his hands on

her shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I... think I know

how you feel. I've seen the way you were behaving around Tenchi and

Ryoko earlier today at lunchtime. You're lonely, aren't you...?" He gazed

into her violet eyes, which had tears welling up in them.

She sniffled again. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Every

time I've tried to give my heart to someone, they've brushed it aside, like a

flower petal in the breeze. First it was my brother Yosho, and then,

Tenchi." A single tear fell down her cheek.

Russ felt really bad for her, as he brushed her tear away with his

thumb. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her warmly. "I'm

sorry. I had no idea. I'll do the best that I can to keep you company. And

then, after my mission here is complete, we'll see about what we can do

together. How's that?"

Aeka felt hopeful and happier. "Would you promise me that?"

Russ took in a shaky breath. "Yes. I promise." He felt a lump in

his throat, but he felt better after telling her that.

The sun vanished behind the distant mountains when dusk

overtook the land, as Russ continued to hold Aeka in his arms.


	5. Chapter 5

Ep 5 - Nighttime

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real attempt at a

fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi TV) and the OVA so

most of the main characters you've seen from there will appear here as well.

It also crosses a bit with Dragonball Z with the existence of Dragonballs

and immensely powerful warriors. Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to

be together, and Aeka is still living at the house for now. You'll see when it

happens. Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right to the

story. Enjoy! Send all hate mail / fan mail to .

"Hey Sasami! I'm starving to death! When is dinner going to be

ready?" Ryoko called from the kitchen door.

"Sorry Ryoko. I'm almost done here. Can you help me out by

setting the table?" Sasami was busy at the counter, trying to get the food

out of the pots and onto the serving plates. Ryoko gave her a funny look,

but nodded her head.

"Yeah, sure. I think I can do that," Ryoko said, as she returned to

the dining area. Seeing the tablecloth neatly folded up on top of the dining

table, she shook it out and allowed it to flutter down to the table. It landed

crooked, so she tried again, which ended up in the same result. She

shrugged her shoulders and returned to the kitchen door. "Okay Sasami!

Tablecloth is all set. Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

"Just tell everybody that dinner is ready, alright? I'll take care of

everything else." Sasami smiled as she grabbed the first two plates to carry

to the table.

Ryoko's mouth started watering like crazy as she floated out of the

kitchen and up to Tenchi's room. He was still sitting at his desk, working

on something. Upon closer inspection, she could see he was drawing a

picture of a beautiful nature scene, very similar to what was seen outside of

Tenchi's bedroom window. Ryoko rested her hand on Tenchi's shoulder as

she brought her face down next to his, causing him to jump a little in

surprise.

"Ryoko! What's the idea? You know I don't like it when you

sneak up on me like that."

"I know. That's why I do it." She giggled and smiled. "Dinner is

ready. Come on downstairs before it gets cold. You know how Sasami

can't stand it when the food gets cold and nobody eats it."

"Yeah, you got that right." Tenchi put his pencil aside and put his

drawing in a folder that was sitting on his desk. It was crammed full of

other drawings that he had done in his spare time, including beautiful

drawings of natural phenomenon, such as waterfalls, sunsets, trees and

mountains, and even an oasis in the middle of a desert. Ryoko looked at the

folder for a moment, and then grabbed Tenchi for another hug.

"Are you ever going to let me see all of those drawings in that

folder of yours?" She started drawing circles on his chest with her index

finger.

"They're really not that good. But maybe we'll take a look at them

later, after dinner." Tenchi stood up and slid his chair under the desk.

"Being modest as usual. I'm sure they're beautiful, just like my

Tenchi." She giggled again, and looked into Tenchi's big, brown, puppy

dog eyes.

He smiled and hugged her in return, causing Ryoko to blush.

"Well, we better get down there or Sasami will have a cow, if you know

what I mean." Tenchi took Ryoko's hand and led her out the door.

"I still have to go get everybody else for dinner. I'll be back in a

few moments. Don't wait for me!"

"Okay. You can go get Washu, Kiyone and Mihoshi, and I'll get

Aeka and Grandfather. Dad should be home soon, if he doesn't get stuck at

the office again. I'll see if I can find Russ too." They walked down the

stairs and stopped. Tenchi looked over at Ryoko. "What do you think of

Russ anyway?"

Ryoko narrowed her feral eyes slightly. "Well, he seems nice

enough... almost too nice. I wonder what he's really here for. That

vacation bit he told us doesn't hold with me very well, and why would he

need to live with us for this vacation of his anyway?" Ryoko began to blush

a little. "But I do have to thank him for coming, since now I can share a

room with you."

Tenchi laughed. "I suppose. When you get Washu, ask her if

she'll fabricate us a bigger bed. We're going to need one if we're going to

sleep in the same room."

"Okay, I'll see you at the table in a few minutes." Ryoko

disappeared into the closet door as Tenchi scratched his head, and then

walked out to the back porch.

It was getting dark, and Tenchi could hardly see any detail in the

forest anymore since it was just a jagged, black mass now. The sky was a

very deep blue, with hues of violet and orange in the far off horizon. The

half-moon was now visible, but not bright enough to cast any noticeable

light onto the ground. Nearby stars were just beginning to poke their way

through the Earth's atmosphere, twinkling their weak lights. The outdoor

air was cooling off a bit, but it was still very pleasant and refreshing. A

light breeze ruffled Tenchi's hair as he walked off toward the old stairway,

which led to the shrine. The steps were just visible enough so he wouldn't

trip and fall, but he took his time anyway. Hundreds of crickets were

chirping, almost loud enough to drown out his footsteps. Looking up, he

saw a couple bats flying through a swarm of gnats, grabbing an easy meal.

"Guess it's dinner time for them too." He snickered and continued

on his way, finally reaching the pathway where his training area was. He

stopped for a moment and looked down the path, and he could just barely

hear two people conversing. He listened for a few moments and realized it

was Aeka and Russ. Their voices were getting louder, as he figured they

were probably on their way back to the house for dinner. He stood silently

as they emerged from the darkness.

Aeka and Russ were both talking quietly to each other, and Russ

looked up when he sensed something in front of him. Tenchi saw them

both, and waited a moment as they made their way over to him. He smiled,

even though they probably couldn't see it very well.

"Hello there. I came to tell you that dinner is on the table. You

better hurry home if you want to eat it hot, and to avoid Sasami's wrath."

They both laughed, but Russ just stood by quietly.

"Okay, thank you Tenchi. Will you be joining us?" Aeka said,

quietly.

"Sure will. I just have to go get Grandpa and I'll be right down."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes." Aeka and Russ started

down the stairway together as Tenchi resumed walking up the steps to the

shrine. Tenchi stopped and turned a moment and watched them both go, as

a small smile spread across his lips. He hoped they'd get together, since he

knew how down and lonely Aeka has been for the last half-year. She hasn't

really been her usual, happy, robust self. Lately, it's gotten to the point

where he assumed that she felt that she was simply in the way, taking up

space. She buried herself in housework, trying to keep her mind occupied,

but to no avail. She hardly smiled anymore, and she never walked with her

head held high as she used to. She also left the house frequently, just

wandering around the forest, as if to stay away and distance herself from

everybody. Tenchi still felt bad and guilty about hurting her feelings, but

the fighting between the two girls finally came to a head almost six months

ago, and he finally had to make a choice. On occasion, like now, he

regretted having to make that choice, but things have been more peaceful

around the house since then. Tenchi sighed and made his way to the shrine,

where a faint glow emanated from the Shrine office.

"Hmm... Grandpa must be meditating or something," Tenchi

muttered to himself as he walked up the steps to the porch. He rapped

lightly on the door. "Grandpa? Dinner is ready. Come and get it before it

gets cold."

No answer.

"Grandpa? Hello?" He knocked a little louder on the wood.

No answer.

Tenchi slid open the door and peered inside. On the table in the

middle of the room were a pencil and a sheet of paper with some writing on

it. There were several candles giving off a dim glow throughout the room.

"Grandpa? Where are you? Dinner is ready," he said again, as he walked

over to the table. He looked down at the sheet of paper and read it.

"Look out behind you?" Tenchi questioned, as he read the paper.

Suddenly, Yosho sprang out of a closet door that was behind Tenchi and

raced at him with his wooden sword. Tenchi yelped in surprise and jumped

aside as the sword flew through his former position. Tenchi spun around

and faced Yosho, who looked extremely intimidating in the low candlelight.

In a flash, Yosho charged Tenchi again, this time getting him off balance.

Tenchi spun around on his heel and managed to clip Yosho in the leg with

his other foot, then tripped and crashed through the table. In an instant,

Yosho stood over Tenchi, with the sword held to his throat.

"Work harder, Tenchi. That was very sloppy."

"Sorry Grandpa, but I wasn't ready for that, and I only came to tell

you that dinner is ready. Are you going to come down and eat with us?"

Tenchi groaned as he picked himself up off of the table and brushed the

splinters off of his clothes.

"Mmmm... yes, I think I will join you for dinner." Yosho slapped

Tenchi on the back. "Why don't you practice your sword fighting against

Russ? He'd be a much greater challenge than I am."

"Why on Earth would I do that? I can't even defeat you. I can't

even come remotely close to defeating you!" Tenchi glared at him.

"If you practice enough against someone who is fantastic in

comparison with yourself, your skills may progress much faster."

Tenchi sighed. "I suppose. I'll ask him about it tonight or

tomorrow."

Tenchi and Yosho got ready to walk out of the shrine office, taking

care to extinguish the candles. "Good. Have you gotten Russ settled in

yet?"

"I don't know. He hasn't been at the house for most of the day and

I have no idea where he's been. I've been at the carrot field for most of the

morning and afternoon, and afterwards I spent the rest of my free time in

my room." They both reached the stairway and began their long trek down.

Tenchi looked over at his Grandfather. "Why is Russ here?"

"What makes you think that he's here and not on vacation?"

"I don't know. He just... seems unusual."

Yosho laughed. "And having six girls from outer space isn't

unusual?"

Tenchi shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you're right. I'm starved,

and I'm sure Sasami is already about to kill us for being late. Let's hurry."

They both picked up the pace a bit, trying to keep from tripping on the steps

from the blackness of night.

Sasami had just finished cleaning the counter and getting

everything ready for dinner. Exiting the kitchen, she took her usual seat at

the table, which was totally covered in plates of delicious food. She was

currently alone, but that didn't last long. The first person to enter was

Ryoko followed by Washu, as they exited the lab. It was a rare event to

have Washu for two meals in one day.

"Ahhh, hello Little Washu! What brings you to the table for the

second time today?" Sasami smiled happily.

Washu blushed slightly. "What... am I not allowed to eat more

than once a week now?"

"Oh no, you can eat with us as often as you want. I'm just

surprised to see you again."

"Excuse me a moment, I need to go wake Kiyone and Mihoshi

now. I'll be right back." Ryoko floated up to their room.

Washu continued to blush. "What's wrong, Washu? Why are you

so red? Are you sick?" Sasami looked over Washu with concern.

Her green eyes flashed over toward Sasami. "No, I'm not sick.

I'm just a little hot under the collar right now."

"Oh, okay. Whatever you say, Washu." Sasami thought a moment

and was hit with a wave of realization, so she winked at her, causing her to

turn as red as a well-done lobster.

"Stop it!" Washu looked toward the door, trying to avoid Sasami's

cute smile. Sasami exploded laughing, as she grabbed a plate and started

spooning the food on it. Ryoko materialized in her usual seat a moment

later.

Ryoko looked over at her mother. "What's wrong with you?"

"Oh, Washu is hot under the collar right now," Sasami said, as she

winked at Ryoko.

Ryoko thought a moment and realized the same thing Sasami did,

so she looked back at her mother with a huge grin, as she started giggling

uncontrollably, trying to keep from laughing out loud. Washu just glared at

her, clearly not in the mood, which only served to get Ryoko giggling even

harder. Washu glared at her and rolled her eyes, then started eating.

The kitchen door slid open as Nobuyuki entered the living room.

He looked tired out, obviously from a very strenuous day at the office.

"Whew. What a day. I finished one house and I had to start on another

one. I was going to stay late but I just felt so tired and hungry." He spied

the food on the table, and then smiled. "At least I made it in time for

dinner." He removed his coat and tossed it over the couch, then sat down in

his usual place at the table, grabbing a plate in the process.

Kiyone and Mihoshi both emerged from their bedroom, dressed in

their uniforms, and made their way down the stairs to the table. Neither

said anything, but both grabbed a plate and sat down. They both yawned in

unison, obviously still groggy with sleep.

Mihoshi yawned again. "I hate these early morning patrols.

They're so boring and everybody else is asleep while we roam around doing

nothing."

"Well, we have a job to do and we have to do it. There's no

getting out of it." Kiyone started shoveling food into her mouth, chewing

occasionally. She grabbed the Miso soup and washed some of the rice pilaf

down.

A moment later, Russ slid open the glass door, and Aeka walked

though it. Russ followed close behind, and closed the door behind him.

Washu looked up from her position at the table and again started to blush.

She watched him dreamily as he turned around.

"Hi guys. How's everything going?" Russ said as he made his

way to the table.

"Everything's great! Are you hungry? We have tons of food here

as you see." Sasami beamed with pride.

Russ smiled. "Sorry, but I'm not hungry in the least. I just came

back to visit with everybody. I'm also going to tell you guys something,

once everybody gets here."

Everybody looked at him curiously, and then resumed eating.

Aeka sat down in her usual spot, grabbing a plate and spooning a modest

portion of food on it. She didn't look at anybody except for Russ, who sat

down on the floor a few feet away. He flopped down and toppled

backwards with a loud thud and let out a huge sigh.

"Come on over here, Russ," Aeka said, patting the seat next to her.

Russ sat back up and shook his head. "I'm fine here. There are

only two seats left at the table, and Tenchi and Yosho will both arrive in a

moment. Besides, I like sitting on the floor." He scratched his head.

Washu looked over at Russ. "Out of respect, please call Yosho by

Lord Katsuhito or Grandfather. Nobody uses his real name."

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry. He never specified what he would've

preferred. I knew exactly who he was when I first saw him early on today,

so I just called him by his Jurian name, Yosho, which he didn't object to."

Washu continued to stare at Russ. He noticed it, and squirmed

uncomfortably from her big, green eyed gaze and her sly smile. He noticed

she was blushing slightly as she continued to look him over, so in an

attempt to divert her attention away, he turned his attention back at Aeka,

who had her eyebrows furrowed together and was turning red with rage.

Washu turned back around and continued eating, then noticed Aeka's glare

of death.

"Hey, take it easy. I won't steal him from you." Washu whispered

to Aeka. "But he is really nice to look at." She blushed again, as Aeka

relaxed a little.

Tenchi opened the glass door and walked inside, followed by

Katsuhito. Before Tenchi closed the door, a small brown blur raced inside

and skidded to a halt. He didn't notice it as he closed the door.

"Ryo-Ohki! There you are." Sasami smiled and reached behind

her, and grabbed a bowl full of carrots. "Are you ready for dinner?"

Ryo-Ohki meowed a couple times and then transformed into her

human form. Russ' eyes bulged a moment upon seeing her transformation.

"Aww, she's so cute like that!" Russ was grinning as he shifted

positions to get a better look. "I didn't know she could transform." Ryo-

Ohki put her hands together in front of her and looked away shyly.

"Yeah, she can. She can also transform into a spaceship too, but I

told you that already."

"You did?" Russ scratched his head. "Now that you mention it,

yes you did tell me. I guess it didn't click with me until now." He laughed.

"So Russ, what was it that you wanted to tell us, since everybody

is now here?" Kiyone asked as she continued to consume her dinner.

Russ' face became serious as he let out a sigh. "I wasn't entirely

honest with everybody earlier. I have a guilty conscience and I can't let a

lie go without telling the truth."

Everybody stopped eating as Russ explained his origin and why he

came to Earth, but he didn't tell them about the Dragonballs. He explained

his predicament with Zorpheus, and the battle that was probably going to

take place. Everyone looked on with neutral expressions as he told his

lengthy story.

"So that's the whole deal. I decided to tell you guys because I

really can't train in secrecy around here. I was discovered three times, I'm

horrible at keeping secrets, and I have a conscience that won't let me lie, so

I decided I'd come clean and let you guys know what's probably going to

happen when Zorpheus arrives." Russ looked down to the floor. "I'm sorry

for not being truthful earlier." He started fumbling with his clothes. "I

didn't want anybody to worry about this except for me."

Aeka stood up, walked over to Russ and knelt down. "It's okay.

We will help you in any way that we can." She said, smiling. Everybody

noticed her smile, and then nodded in agreement.

Russ looked up and grinned. "I appreciate it. However, once the

battle begins, there won't be anything you can do to help me. He's

thousands of times stronger than all of you combined, and I don't want

anybody to get hurt. I hope he'll follow me to an open, uninhabited place

so we can fight, undisturbed."

"I don't think you need to worry about us. We can take care of

ourselves. We've done it before," Ryoko said from her seat at the table.

Russ' grin melted away as he looked over at her with an extremely

serious expression on his face. "Not like this. I'll demonstrate tomorrow

what I mean. I won't be using my full power, but I'll show you a sample of

what could potentially happen."

"Humph. Whatever." Ryoko narrowed her golden eyes at him and

shrugged her shoulders as she resumed eating her dinner.

Aeka glared at her, but turned back toward Russ. "It's okay.

We'll deal with it when the time comes, alright?"

"Yeah, I suppose." Russ yawned and stretched. "I guess I should

get my room set up for me to sleep in tonight." He got up off of the floor

and walked over to the glass door while everybody watched. "I'll be right

back. I need to go to my spacepod and grab my duffel bag and my

belongings." He placed two fingers to his head and vanished. Aeka

returned to her seat at the table.

"How in the world does he do that?" Tenchi asked when Russ

disappeared. "The way he does it is different from the way Ryoko appears

and disappears."

"Russ explained it to me earlier today. Apparently it's like some

super fast movement ability, which he can use to move from one location to

another, instantly. Funny though, it made a different sound than the one he

demonstrated to me, and he didn't need to put his two fingers to his

forehead either," Katsuhito explained. Aeka and Washu listened intently,

apparently the only other people interested besides Tenchi.

A moment later, Russ re-appeared on top of the coffee table in the

middle of the living room, startling Ryoko and Tenchi, and causing

everybody to turn around. Russ looked down and realized where he was

standing. "Whoops! I guess I was off target a little." He jumped off the

table as a round of chuckles emanated from the table. He now had a large

blue gym bag around his shoulder, and he had an electronic device with a

pink glass eyepiece in his left hand. "Washu, here's one of my scouters, if

you would like to take a look at it after dinner," he said as he held up the

device.

"Hey, cool! Let me see that thing." Washu finished the last bite of

her dinner and stood up, as Russ handed her the device. "How does it

work?"

"You place it over your left ear, and it will stick itself to the side of

your head. It feels kind of weird at first, but you get used to it."

Washu did as he said and it fastened itself to the side of her head.

"Whoa, that does feel strange. How do I turn it on?"

"Press the button on the side of it and it should work."

Everybody watched as Washu played with the scouter. She felt

around for the button, and then pressed it, turning it on. It did a quick self-

diagnostic, and then displayed 'Ready' on the little window.

"Press the button twice and it will give you your own ki level. If

you look at someone specific and press the button once, it will give a ki

reading on the person or group you point it at."

Washu chuckled to herself as she pressed the button twice. A

second later, it gave her a number. "What? This thing says only a hundred

and ten? That seems kind of low, doesn't it?"

"Oops. I forgot to tell you that we use a different scale for ki

energy than you use for your machine. To give you an idea, a normal

human comes in at about level five on our scouter. Our scale is much

smaller and condensed to allow us to get really high readings with it." Russ

scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, okay. I guess that isn't that bad then. Let's see here." She

turned toward the table and pressed the button again. The scouter targeted

everybody separately and calculated a separate level for each person. "Oh

wow. Tenchi comes in at a hundred, Ryoko comes in at ninety-two, Aeka

comes in at ninety, Katsuhito comes in at ninety-five, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and

Nobuyuki come in at level five, Ryo-Ohki comes in at 10, and lastly Sasami

comes in at level 15. Very interesting." She turned toward Russ and

pressed the button once more. The scouter targeted him and calculated his

current ki level. "And you're only at fifty? Wait a minute, I thought you

were a lot stronger than that."

"I am. As I said earlier, I can suppress my ki level to fool devices

like that. Watch." Russ raised his ki a little bit, and the scouter started

beeping as it calculated a new number.

Washu and Katsuhito's eyes widened a bit as they sensed his ki

level increase sharply. "Now you're at five hundred. That's over five times

Tenchi's power!"

"Not really. I'm not energized right now and I don't think none of

you are either. I've heard of Jurians being able to switch to a battle mode

which greatly increases your energy levels." Russ smiled since he was

proud of the fact that he studied a bit of Jurian history.

Everybody continued to watch the two with interest. "So, what

level would you come in at if you maxed yourself out?" Washu asked with

a smirk on her lips.

Russ sighed and thought a moment. "Honestly, I don't know. It

comes out different depending on what planet I'm on. I'll give a

demonstration tomorrow and get a base power level for myself. I won't use

my maximum ki level, since it isn't necessary. But if I had to guess I'd

say I'd come in around four million for my base." Washu facefaulted to the

floor in shock as everybody else started at him with his or her eyes bulging.

"Zorpheus would come out to be the same as well."

Washu slowly stood back up. "You're joking. That's impossible."

Russ put a goofy grin on his lips. "Believe what you want. I'll

show you tomorrow." Russ yawned again. "But right now, I need to get

my bedroom ready. See you guys in a bit." Russ walked up the stairs and

looked down the hallway. He returned to the landing above the table.

"Um... would anybody care to show me where my room is?"

Aeka stood up. "Sure, just a moment. I'm going to put these

dishes in the sink and then I'll be right up."

"Okay, good enough for me! Do you guys need any help cleaning

up the table?" Russ asked, still leaning over the railing.

"Oh, would you help us? We've got a lot of dishes to wash and

put away," Sasami said as she smiled at Russ.

"Absolutely. It's no trouble at all." Russ dropped his duffel bag at

his feet and walked back down the stairs.

Everybody else got up and placed their plates in a stack in the

middle of the table. Katsuhito turned and walked out of the house, nodding

in Russ' direction.

"Good night, everybody. I'm going back to the shrine. See

everybody tomorrow."

"Okay, goodnight Grandpa." Yosho walked outside, closing the

door behind him.

"We're going to get going too. Our patrol shift goes from about

fifteen minutes from now to about six in the morning. An extra long shift

too. Ten hours." Kiyone stood up. "That was a great meal Sasami."

"Waaaahhhh!!! I don't want to work that long! Come on Kiyone!

We can stay here a little longer, can't we?" Mihoshi whined as she latched

onto Kiyone's arm.

"Oh no, we're not going through this again." She grabbed

Mihoshi's arm and nearly dragged her out the door. Russ watched in

confusion and Ryoko started laughing.

"I get such a kick out of those two." Ryoko continued to laugh to

herself as she stood up from the table. "Come on Tenchi, I got our new bed

all ready for us," she said, as she produced a tiny little bed from her pocket.

Tenchi stared at it in disbelief. "How are we supposed to sleep on

that?"

Washu looked back over her shoulder from her lab door. "I

condensed it down into a portable size. Would you have rather lugged up a

king size mattress to your room instead?"

"No, I guess not. Thanks, Little Washu. I really appreciate all

your help." Washu smiled and then disappeared behind the closet door as

Tenchi and Ryoko both went to his bedroom to prepare their new bed.

Washu poked her head back out of her lab and looked around.

"Russ, I started working on your gravity enhancer. I should have it ready in

a couple days."

Russ turned around. "Hey, great! Glad to hear it. One more thing,

make sure it has a voice shutoff in case the thing malfunctions and flattens

me to the ground."

Washu frowned. "My stuff rarely malfunctions! I'm the greatest

scientific genius in the universe! Nearly everything I've made has worked

perfectly."

Russ put up his hands in a submissive gesture. "Okay, okay. I'm

sorry. It was just a safety precaution." Russ walked over to the table and

grabbed up the plates and made his way into the kitchen, followed by

Sasami and Aeka. Washu frowned, and returned to her lab, closing the door

behind her. A moment later a loud roar came from the outside as the

Galaxy Police patrol ship took off and raced off the planet to begin its extra

long day of patrolling the solar system.

"Okay, so we have this mound of pots, pans, and dishes to do?"

Russ asked, as he checked out the mass of kitchen utensils in the sink.

"Yeah. Sometimes it takes up to a half hour to clean it all up by

myself." Sasami looked at Russ pitifully.

"Hmmm... let's see if I can't speed things up a bit. I say, oh...

fifteen seconds ought to be enough." Russ stepped over to the sink as

Sasami and Aeka both looked at each other, puzzled. Russ grabbed the dish

soap. "Ready... set... GO!" he said to himself as his hands started flying

all over the kitchen sink, picking up pots at an insane speed, scrubbing them

down, and spending a second to rinse it. He used his ki to dry the stuff off,

which wasn't powerful enough to be seen, but strong enough to heat the

pots and plates up to near scorching levels. Soapsuds continued to fly

around for the next fifteen seconds as the stack of clean plates grew at an

incredible rate.

"Done." Russ turned around and smiled at them with satisfaction.

He picked up the washcloth and wiped down the sudsy counter as a stack of

freshly washed dishes stood next to another stack of clean pots and pans.

Aeka and Sasami just looked on in astonishment.

"Wow! That is SO COOL!" Sasami said as she grabbed Russ

around the waist in a hug. "That was a huge help. Thank you so much!"

Russ blushed. "It was nothing. Really. I'll be glad to help you out

in any way that I can. I can't be a total freeloader here. I need to do

something to contribute to my living here."

Aeka picked up the dishes and set them into the cupboard, as

Sasami put away the pans. "Well, do you want me to show you to your

room now?" Aeka smiled at Russ.

"Okay, that sounds good. Just lead the way!" Russ wiped his

hands off on a towel.

"Right this way. Your room is upstairs across from Tenchi's."

Aeka went to open the kitchen door but Russ beat her to it. He slid the door

open and gestured for her to walk though. Aeka smiled sweetly as Sasami

chuckled to herself.

They both walked upstairs, and Russ grabbed his duffel bag, which

he tossed aside a few minutes earlier. They walked to the end of the

hallway, then Aeka slid open the door and flipped on the light. The room

was bare now, aside from a bed, an empty bookshelf, a rolling office chair,

and an empty desk, which had some dust on it. Aeka groaned to herself.

"Doesn't Ryoko ever clean anything?" she muttered to herself, as

she blew some of the dust off of the desk.

Russ just laughed. "Sometimes I'm the same way. Well anyway,

this room is plenty adequate for me. Thank you Aeka. I appreciate it."

She turned and smiled. "You're very welcome." Her smile melted

away a little as she started toward the door.

"Hey, hold up a minute." She turned around. "Is something

bothering you? You can always come talk to me if something is bugging

you. I'd never tell anyone about it, even though I have a hard time holding

secrets."

"No, it's alright. I'm just glad you're here and all. I really haven't

talked with anybody lately. Everybody seems to be busy with something

else." She looked at the floor as she fumbled with her clothes. Russ

watched her curiously.

"You must be lonely. I could tell by the way you acted earlier

today..."

"I'm sorry about that." She interrupted. "It was just an

uncontrolled outburst."

Russ shook his head. "No, I don't think so. One thing I can sense

is emotions from other people. I can tell you're sad or depressed, or even

both."

Aeka looked up at him with her eyes welling up with tears. She

sniffled. "I've just felt so left out of everything when Tenchi chose Ryoko

over me. It all happened when Ryoko and myself got into a massive fight

over him that nearly destroyed the house. Since that time, after he chose

Ryoko, he's spent most of his free time with her. I tried to be a good sport

about it, but it just pains me to see those two together, and when I think

about what I lost..." She stopped as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Russ walked up and closed his bedroom door, took her by the arm,

and led her over to his bed. "Please sit down. I know you want to talk

about this." He sat down on the bed as she reluctantly sat down next to

him. "Why are you still here? At this house, I mean? How come you

didn't go back home to Jurai? You are the princess of that planet, are you

not?"

"Yes I am, but I didn't want to go back. I've fallen in love with

this place and it's people, and I still love Tenchi with all my heart." She

thought back to Tenchi and Ryoko, laughing and enjoying each other's

company as they swam in the lake and did many other things together. The

tears started flowing down her cheeks. "But he's now taken, and there's

nothing I can do about it." She started crying as she buried her face in her

hands.

Russ wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close

and gave her a sympathetic hug. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine how that must

feel. Honestly, I've never even had a girlfriend before. I've never been

involved in any kind of relationship with anybody, except for friendship.

I've never been sought after, except for today when Washu got an eyeful of

me."

Aeka looked up with her tear-streaked face and sniffled. "What

happened?"

"Well, Washu wanted to... examine... me." He thought back to

that incident earlier in the day. "She used this weird globe that grabbed me

from behind and took off most of my clothes. It was quite a shock and a

surprise. I've never had anything like that happen to me before. But now

that I think about it, it seems kind of funny, especially when I think back to

Washu's facial expression." He snickered a bit.

Aeka managed a little smile.

"Hey, that looks better. You have a very beautiful smile." Russ

grinned at Aeka, who blushed slightly.

She sniffled. "You think so?"

"Absolutely. I have to tell you, that you two probably gave Tenchi

the run of his life when both of you were pursuing him." He thought about

telling her that he had no idea why Tenchi picked Ryoko over her, but

figured that it may result in hurting her feelings.

She giggled lightly. "Yes, Ryoko and I were fiercely competitive

over him. But honestly, now, I miss those days."

"I can imagine. But now, you have an opportunity to start

something new again." Russ looked over at her and rubbed her shoulder,

which felt really tense. "Wow, you're really tight back here." He slid back

on the bed a little and started massaging her shoulders, slowly working

down her back.

"Ohhh... that feels so good." She closed her eyes and groaned as

his hands worked her tense muscles. She wiped her cheek with the back of

her hand.

Russ reached over and grabbed her a tissue from the desk, then

continued massaging her back. "Would you like to start training with me

tomorrow? It'll give you something to do. I'll try and teach you how to fly

using your ki, and we'll see how good you are in martial arts."

She opened her eyes slightly and took the tissue and rubbed under

her eyes, then blew her nose. "I'd like that very much. What will we be

doing?" Russ rubbed another tense spot on her back. "Oh that feels so

good."

"Well, for tomorrow, not much. I'm just going to see how well

you do against me in some tests. I'm going to see how strong you are, and I'm

going to test your speed, and maybe your endurance. And then, we'll work

on getting you to fly. Now don't be disappointed because you most likely

won't get it on the first day. Hardly anybody does. It took me nearly a

week to grasp the technique, and in reality, it's one of the simplest things to

master. You'll probably get it on the first day and put me to shame, won't

you." He chuckled lightly.

"I doubt it." She smiled at him. "But I'll take that up as a

challenge." She giggled as Russ cocked his eyebrow, then put on a big grin.

Russ and Aeka talked for another two hours, until it was way past

both of their bedtimes. Sasami was already in bed, and Tenchi and Ryoko

finally worked out their sleeping arrangements and fell asleep. Mihoshi fell

asleep on patrol again, much to the annoyance of Kiyone. Aeka finally got

so tired that she fell asleep in Russ' arms. He decided not to disturb her, so

he carefully tucked her into his bed. She looked so beautiful, even in the

dim bedroom light. He found a bed mat rolled up in the corner of the room,

which he quietly unwrapped and set up, turned out the light, then fell

asleep. Only Ryo-Ohki was still awake, as she spent most of the time

spying on both of them. She finally got sleepy and bounded off toward

Sasami's room, found her little niche on top of Sasami's chest, and then

dozed off for the night. The only sounds in the house were the crickets that

were still going strong outside of the Misaki home as the time finally hit

midnight, and the day finally ended.


	6. Chapter 6

Ep 6 A New Day

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real attempt

at a fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi TV) and the

OVA so most of the main characters you've seen from there will

appear here as well. It also crosses a bit with Dragonball Z with the

existence of Dragonballs and immensely powerful warriors. Ryoko

and Tenchi had finally chosen to be together, and Aeka is still living at

the house for now. You'll see when it happens. Anyway, I'll stop

flapping my yap and let you get right to the story. Enjoy! Send all hate

mail / fan mail to .

Shifting positions in his spacepod, Zorpheus twiddled his

thumbs, bored out of his mind. He has been on his journey for only a

day, and it was already driving him insane. He slammed his fist on the

computer console, initiating a vapor bath. Warm steam filled the

cockpit and lingered for a few moments, then was sucked out again via

the life support system. Feeling a little better, he hit the button again

and initiated a second bath. Once again, warm steam filled the cockpit.

However, this time it condensed in little water droplets on the glass

window, and a few moments later, the steam was sucked out again.

Zorpheus laughed to himself a moment.

"Ahhh. Now that felt good. But now, I need to train.

Computer, where's the nearest inhabited planet with ki levels seventy

five percent of my own?"

No response.

"Dammit! I hate how these stupid computers keep defaulting

back to some factory preset crap." He quickly typed in the sequence to

initiate voice commands.

"Voice commands ready," the computer responded in its

nasal, feminine voice.

"Piece of junk. Computer, where's the nearest inhabited

planet with ki levels seventy five percent of my maximum?"

"Scanning... planet found one month journey to aft. Multiple

signatures."

"No, find one between here and Earth, you piece of scrap!"

Zorpheus furrowed his eyebrows together as his natural eye became

bloodshot. Damn computers are so stupid!

"Scanning... one planet found, approximately three months

journey."

"Fine. Head toward that planet and wake me once we're

within thirty minutes of landing. Initiate stasis sleep."

"Affirmative. Course set. Initiating stasis." A moment later,

a purple vapor hissed through the life support system as Zorpheus

drifted off to sleep. His vital signs slowed, the temperature inside the

pod dropped below freezing, and all the color paled out of Zorpheus'

face and skin, leaving it a sickly white.

"Stasis confirmed," his computer said to nobody, as the

spacepod roared to it's new destination.

Sasami woke up from her slumber, sensing something was

amiss in her room. She leaned over and squinted at her digital clock,

which read four in the morning. She groaned to herself as she flopped

back onto her bed, and then turned over to face Aeka. However, this

time, she wasn't there. Her futon was untouched, which meant that she

hadn't come to bed all night long. Sasami sat up and started to pull the

covers off of her, but she felt something warm, soft, and furry in

between her legs. She giggled quietly to herself, and then, silently, not

wanting to disturb the sleeping cabbit, she carefully slid both her legs

away from it, and scooted away from her bed. She stretched and

yawned, and quietly got up, nearly falling back down because her body

wasn't ready to move yet and wasn't awake. She shook the dizziness

from her head and quietly opened the door, and then glided out into the

dark hallway, illuminated only by the moonlight from the window at

the end of the hall. She quietly crept to Tenchi's room and knocked

very lightly, just loudly enough to disable the forcefield that Aeka

installed many months before. She smiled at it, remembering the first

time it was put to use. Washu had told her about it the next day, which

Sasami had laughed hysterically at for the next two days, whenever she

thought about it. She poked her head into his room, only hearing

Tenchi, sound asleep in his bed with his head under the covers,

probably hiding from the moonlight that was shining across his bed.

She looked again and saw a few hairs sticking out from under the

covers, which weren't Tenchi's. Remembering the tiny bed Ryoko

produced from her pocket, reminded her of who else was there with

him, with her arms wrapped tightly around him, as if someone was

going to steal him away.

She quietly closed the door as silently as she opened it, then

continued down the hallway, stopping at Russ' room next. She put her

ear to the door, and heard a very soft moan from inside, which was

definitely feminine in origin. Again, very quietly, she slid open the

door and peered inside. She couldn't see very well, since the moon

wasn't illuminating that particular side of the house, but the shade was

up and the window was open, allowing just enough light come in, so

she could see inside. On the floor, curled up into a ball with the blanket

covering his face, almost snoring, was Russ, and in the bed, noisily

tossing and turning, was Aeka. She moaned again, ever so softly, as

she shifted positions, almost kicking the blanket off of the bed.

Sasami sighed in relief at finding her sister, so she quietly

closed the door, and then went back to her room to sleep a little more.

Ryo-Ohki woke up upon her return, meowing her concern as to why

Sasami would be up so early.

"Shhh, I just needed to know where Aeka was. Let's go back

to sleep," she said, her voice just above a whisper. She petted Ryo-

Ohki, the cabbit's yellow eyes glimmering in the moonlight with

concern. She meowed once more, then snuggled against Sasami's

chest, trying to let sleep overtake her again.

Sasami also tried to drift back to sleep, but her body and her

mind were half awake now, causing her to shift positions a few more

times. Why was Aeka in Russ' room? How come she never came to

bed last night? She knows I don't like sleeping alone. What did she

and Russ do last night, anyway?

Allowing her thoughts to drift a while longer, she finally

decided that her sister's business was her own, and she wouldn't ask

about it or tell her that she had woken up because she was alone, but

instead, wait for Aeka to say something about it herself. However, she

was going to bring up the question of why she wasn't in her room last

night when she went to bed, and why she still wasn't in bed when she

woke up the next morning. A deep sleep finally overtook the little

princess about a half hour later.

The sun began to rise in the east, casting a multitude of color

to the now blue sky. The stars retreated to their daytime slumber, the

moon vanished from view, and the morning fog continued to carpet the

valley floor, coating everything in small dewdrops. A few lone clouds

drifted through the sky, welcoming the new day, and promising rain for

the day after. The sweet smell of summer drifted into Russ' room, as

he began to stir. A couple birds chirped nearby, further rousing his

sleep. Rolling onto his back, and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Russ

stretched and yawned from his heavy slumber. Half the joints in his

body popped when he moved, his body not wanting to cooperate with

him. Russ tried to breathe in through his nose, but only managed a

squishy snort.

"Damn allergies. Why did I have to be allergic to everything

common," Russ muttered to himself as he sat up and took in a deep

breath through his mouth, yawning once more. His eyes adjusted to the

dim sunlight filtering in through his window as he checked out his

surroundings, trying to remember where he was. A moment later, he

remembered whom he was with, as he looked over at Aeka, who was

now snoozing peacefully on his bed, elegant as ever, even though half

the covers were kicked off. He grinned to himself, remembering the

previous night's lengthy conversation. He told her numerous stories

about his crazy space adventures and his weird friends, his mom and

dad, his home world and his life on planet Earth many years ago, and

countless interests of his. Aeka had listened through all of it, being

content with just resting her head on his shoulder and listening to his

rather deep, smooth voice. Russ was unaccustomed to physical touch,

especially the affectionate kind, but he managed to keep his composure

until she eventually drifted off to sleep, bored to death over one of his

techno babble stories. Russ smiled at remembering that, since he did

see she was tired, but didn't seem to want to go to sleep, so instead, he

told one of his most boring stories which were of no interest to a girl,

and that lulled her to sleep in five minutes.

Russ yawned again as he quietly tossed back his covers and

stood up, making even more noise from his joints cracking and

popping. He looked at the time on the alarm clock, which was now a

quarter past seven. He was already dressed, having fallen asleep in his

gi again. Glancing back at Aeka's sleeping form, he silently

straightened out her covers and tucked her back in, managing to not

wake her up. He quietly left the room and went downstairs to the

kitchen, looking for something to eat. His stomach rumbled, reminding

him it was there and it wanted food. Right now. He patted his stomach

as he rummaged through some of the cupboards, looking for something

breakfast-like.

One of the cupboards he looked in had some pancake mix, so

he grabbed that and went to the refrigerator and grabbed five eggs and

the milk. Trying to remember how to make pancakes, he picked up the

box and tried to read the instructions, which were in kanji, and

unfortunately for him, that was something he never was able to master.

He started to perspire, but then decided to wing it, figuring he could

remember as he made it. Grabbing a mixing bowl and a smaller cereal

bowl, he cracked open two eggs and beat them with a fork, then poured

the contents into a frying pan that he placed on the stove. He turned on

the fire and adjusted the flame to cook the eggs at just the right

temperature, then proceeded to pour some pancake mix, milk, and the

other three eggs into the mixing bowl, rapidly beating the contents with

his fork until the mass smoothed out. He grabbed a large frying pan

and placed that next to the cooking eggs, poured in some of the

contents, and then turned on the burner.

The eggs were just about done, so he quickly grabbed himself

a dinner plate, then tipped the pan to the side, letting the scrambled

eggs fall in a heap in the middle of his plate. He moved them to the

side, and then waited for his pancakes to finish cooking. His stomach

reminded him that he was quite hungry, so instead of waiting for his

pancakes to finish cooking, he started eating his eggs, wincing when he

chomped down on his first bite since the eggs hadn't quite cooled yet.

He quickly grabbed a glass and filled it with milk, and quickly took in a

mouthful.

The kitchen door slid open as Sasami walked in, startling him.

"Oh! Good morning, Russ. I didn't expect anyone else to be

up at this hour, and I could smell something good coming from down

here," she said, smiling and making her way over to him. Ryo-Ohki

was perched on her head, and meowed a good morning too.

"Good morning, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki. I'm sorry, but I got

hungry, and I wanted some American breakfast that was fast and easy,

and not cereal. I didn't wake you up, did I?" he asked.

"No, you didn't wake me up, but your cooking did. What are

you making?"

Russ turned red. "I'm sorry. I'm making pancakes and

scrambled eggs, and a nice tall, cool glass of milk." Russ turned his

head and smiled as she walked up next to him. He scratched Ryo-

Ohki's head as she meowed in contentment.

"I've never had pancakes before. Are they good?"

"Do they smell good?"

"Yeah, they do. Can you make me some pancakes and

scrambled eggs?" She gave her best cute smile.

Russ started to blush. "How can I say no to someone as cute

as you," he said, as he took his pancakes and placed them on his plate.

He looked at it a moment, then handed it to Sasami. "Here, you can

have this plate. I'll just make myself another one."

"That's okay, I can wait until you're..."

"Nope. I won't have any of that," he interrupted. He reached

into one of the drawers and produced a clean fork. "Take this plate and

this fork here and go have a seat and eat your breakfast." Russ had a

huge grin on his face has he handed her the butter and the maple syrup

to go with it.

"Thank you very much. Um... how do I eat them?"

Russ facefaulted then recovered quickly, remembering that

she's been living a Japanese lifestyle. "You butter the pancakes, and

then you pour the syrup over top of them. Then you just eat them with

your fork. These can't really be eaten with chopsticks," he explained.

She smiled, and then walked out of the kitchen. Russ'

stomach rumbled again, reminding him that it was hungry. He quickly

made himself another batch of pancakes and eggs, and this time,

instead of using the stove, he used his ki, cooking it in under a second.

"Whew, just the right amount of energy," he said to himself,

as the eggs continued to sizzle in the pan and his pancakes shown

golden brown. He quickly set his food on a fresh plate and then joined

Sasami at the table. She was about half way done with her breakfast

while Ryo-Ohki was happily munching on a carrot.

"So, do you like them?"

"Mmmm," she said, her mouth currently full. She swallowed.

"These are really good. Where'd you learn how to make this?"

Russ buttered his pancakes, and then drowned them in syrup.

"I learned how to make them back when I used to live on this planet.

My parents, even though alien, had lived in America, and we consumed

traditional American foods. I know quite a few dinners too that you

may probably like. However, I'm more of a 'steak and potatoes' guy,

meaning I don't care for mixed foods, like casseroles and stuff along

those lines. I like plain and simple food, but the more complex stuff,

depending on how it's prepared, can taste very good as well," he said,

as he started wolfing down his breakfast. "Some of my favorites are

prime rib, spareribs, veal parmesan, which is an Italian food, um...

steak, fried chicken, pizza, and I'm a huge seafood eater, too."

"Wow, you sure like a lot of foods. Do you think you can

show me how to make some of those?"

"Yeah, sure. I'd be glad to. But anyway, I'm actually quite

picky about what I eat. There are certain things that you couldn't get

me to touch with a ten foot pole."

Sasami looked at him with confusion. "Ten foot pole? What

do you mean?"

"Oh, sorry, it's just an expression. It just means that you

couldn't force feed me that kind of dinner without me complaining

about it the whole time I'm eating it, and some foods actually get me

sick," he said, blushing.

"Ahhh, okay. I see what you mean." She smiled.

"There will probably be things that you make that I won't like.

Please don't take it personally. Like I said, there are a lot of things I

don't like. But I do appreciate the effort that goes into the preparation

of the food."

At that moment, Tenchi and Ryoko both appeared on the

landing, as they started making their way down. Russ looked up and

smiled, then nodded in their direction.

"Good morning," Russ and Sasami said in unison. They

looked at each other with surprise, and then giggled.

"Good morning, Sasami and Russ. Mmmm, something smells

good," said Tenchi, who had Ryoko wrapped around his shoulders

again.

Russ blushed. "Just my pancake breakfast. I got hungry and I

needed food. I didn't wake you two up as well, did I?"

"No, we usually get up around this time anyway. But the

smell of food brought us out of the bedroom." Tenchi grinned, as he

looked at Ryoko, who smiled back and hugged him a little tighter.

"I trust you guys got a good night sleep?"

Tenchi stretched his arms and arched his back. "Yes, we had

plenty of rest last night. I slept really good."

Russ looked at both of them and blushed slightly. "Glad to

hear it. Um... do you guys want some breakfast? It's not your

traditional Japanese food though."

Ryoko looked at Sasami's plate, which had a small amount of

maple syrup left on it, while Russ' plate was scraped clean, and then

she fixed her gaze directly at Russ. "Actually, yes. Those pancakes do

smell very good."

"I had made scrambled eggs too. Do you want those to go

with it?"

"Why not? I'm in the mood to try something new." Ryoko

grinned at Russ, and then at Tenchi, who nodded his head in agreement.

"I hope there are enough eggs left to make another breakfast

or two. The same goes for the pancake mix. The box was already

opened when I started using it." Russ stood up and collected his and

Sasami's plates. "Let's see if there's enough stuff left to make another

breakfast."

"Oh, Russ, I'll wash those dishes and you can make them

breakfast, okay?" Sasami asked, as she stood up.

Russ smiled in approval. "Okay, sure, if you want to."

"No problem at all."

"Okay. Tenchi, Ryoko, I should have this done in a few

moments, so I'll come get you when it's ready."

"Alright, sounds good."

Russ went to the refrigerator as Sasami went to the sink with

the dirty dishes, as Tenchi and Ryoko both sat on the couch and flipped

on the TV.

"Uh oh, we don't have enough eggs here, Sasami. Do you

know if a store is open at this hour so we can get more?"

"Yeah, there are a few stores open. You want to go get more,

right now?"

"I have to if I'm going to make breakfast for those two." Russ

scratched his head. "You want to come along?"

"Sure, but how are we going to get there?"

"I can fly us there really fast, if you don't mind riding on my

back for the journey. Secondly, you know where the store is," Russ

laughed. "Go tell Tenchi and Ryoko that breakfast will be a few

minutes longer. Also, do we have any money to buy the stuff we

need?"

"Yeah, I've got the money. Be right back." Sasami left the

kitchen and Russ could hear her telling those two lovebirds they had to

go to the store and they'd be back in a little while.

Two minutes later, Russ and Sasami stood outside in the

already very warm, summer air, ready to go to the store. Ryo-Ohki

remained perched on top of Sasami's head, wanting to go along with

them. Tenchi and Ryoko both came out to see them off.

"Are you ready?"

"Yup."

"Okay now, hold on tight!" Sasami got on Russ' back,

piggyback style, as he lifted off the ground. "Now, hold onto my waist

tightly now. We're going to fly really fast here." He leveled off his

ascent and his body, trying to keep his back as flat as possible. He then

started moving forward.

"Okay! Let's go!" She shouted with excitement. Ryo-Ohki

meowed her enthusiasm as well, as she jumped onto Russ' back and

dug her claws into his clothes.

A moment later, a small green explosion emanated around

Russ and engulfed the three of them in a brilliant green flame. Sasami

shrieked in surprise, and then laughed. A moment later Russ, Sasami,

and Ryo-Ohki shot off like a brilliant green shooting star toward the

store, leaving behind a bright green vapor trail, that faded away a

moment later. Tenchi and Ryoko both stood, stunned, at what they

both just saw.

"Geez, he's fast! They're probably half way to the store

already," Tenchi continued to look in the direction they shot off in,

trying to catch a glimpse of them.

"Hmm... I still don't know about him," she said, scowling.

Tenchi turned. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess it's just bad memories from a long

time ago. I'm still skittish about when another bounty hunter or

whatever is going to show up, trying to bring my head home as a

trophy."

Tenchi turned toward her, as her expression went from a scowl

to one of worry. He leaned over and put his arm around her and pulled

her close. "You don't need to worry about things like that anymore.

You were let off with a full pardon from Jurai, and as far as we know,

there are no more prices on your head."

"I know, I know. I just can't shake the feeling. What if Nagi

decides to get revenge on me or something? I used to have a huge

bounty, and since my 'heroic' efforts in my assisting you against

Kagato, that potential bulge in her wallet has vanished. And she's

probably still mad at me for allowing her to live from that battle on

Venus."

"You worry too much," Tenchi said, and then laughed. "Who

would've known you were such a worrier."

Ryoko continued to frown, but returned Tenchi's hug, which

made her smile. They both turned to go inside to wait for Russ and

Sasami's return, and as they both made their way back to the living

room, they saw Aeka coming down the stairs, stretching and yawning.

Aeka noticed the two and immediately tried to regain her regal

composure. She smoothed out her kimono as she reached the living

room floor.

"Good morning, Aeka. Did you sleep well?" Tenchi smiled

as he and Ryoko made their way back to the couch.

"Yes. Thanks for asking," she said, smiling, then frowned

when Ryoko threw her arms around Tenchi and grinned that evil little

smile of hers. Aeka saw Tenchi's smile and her shoulders slumped a

little, but she still managed to keep her fake smile when Tenchi looked

over at her. Seeing those two like that killed her heart, but there was no

reason to try to steal Tenchi away from Ryoko anymore. "What are

you two doing up this early on a Saturday?"

"The smell of breakfast brought us out of bed. Russ and

Sasami were both at the table eating pancakes and scrambled eggs,"

explained Ryoko. "They both just left to go to the store to get more

ingredients. Russ offered to make us breakfast as well."

"Pancakes and scrambled eggs? I've never had that before,

but it smells good down here." Aeka sat down on the couch, next to

Tenchi.

"They should be home pretty fast. Russ flew them both to the

store and Ryo-Ohki went with them as well."

Aeka looked out the door worriedly, hoping Sasami was going

to be all right, then turned her attention back to the TV.

Russ and Sasami had just left the store and were once again

airborne, out of sight of all the bystanders, with a couple bags of

groceries in Russ and Sasami's grasp. Sasami continued to giggle

uncontrollably, trying to contain her excitement. Her happy mood was

contagious, as Russ started to laugh along with her. Ryo-Ohki meowed

like crazy, also enjoying the flight.

"This is so much fun! Go faster!" Sasami shouted in delight.

Russ laughed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Go faster!" She laughed and giggled in anticipation.

Ryo-Ohki also meowed encouragement, as she dug her claws even

deeper into Russ' gi and crouched down with her ears swept behind

her.

"Okay! Hold on TIGHT!" he shouted, as his ki expanded and

he rocketed off much faster than he was going. He put up a small ki

shield in front of them, trying his best to keep the wind reasonable.

The ground was almost nothing but a blur as the threesome roared over

the landscape, and Sasami couldn't contain her excitement anymore as

she laughed even harder. Russ laughed right along with her, feeling so

happy to be with someone so cute and nice, and who actually enjoyed

some excitement. Russ looked up and caught sight of a concord

aircraft racing through the sky, making its way to Tokyo's international

airport.

Russ got an idea for a little fun. "Hey Sasami! See that

airplane up there?"

"Yeah!"

"What do you say we have ourselves a little fun?"

Sasami laughed. "Let's go!"

Russ laughed along with her, raising his ki level even higher,

causing his current speed to double. A loud boom resonated around

them as their speed broke the sound barrier, trying to catch up with it.

About a minute later, he was alongside the supersonic aircraft,

so he decreased his speed to fly with it. Sasami waved at all the

passengers, who were all piling on top of each other, trying to get a

view out of the small windows. Russ waved as well, and Ryo-Ohki

meowed at the top of her voice, trying to say hello. He continued to fly

along side it for a few moments, then banked off and headed back

toward home.

"That was so cool!" Sasami shouted through her constant

giggling. Ryo-Ohki meowed in agreement.

"You're so cool, Sasami! I wish I had a little sister like you!"

he shouted over the roar of the wind and his ki. She squeezed Russ

even harder and laughed. "We should be home in about ten seconds!

Scoot up a little and grab onto my neck, because we're going to be

landing vertically!"

Russ started decelerating, and a few moments later, stopped

over backyard of the Misaki home. His ki faded away as he landed

lightly on the lawn and kneeled down, as Sasami let go of his neck and

jumped down onto the ground. Ryo-Ohki bounded back up on top of

Sasami's head, continuing to meow her contentment. They both

walked up to the porch and slid open the glass door, as Tenchi, Ryoko,

and Aeka turned their attention toward the arrivals.

"Sasami! Where did you go? I was worried to death," said

Aeka, as she sprang up from the couch and sprinted toward her,

stopping about a foot away and noticing the grocery bags she and Russ

had carried in with them.

"I'm okay, Aeka. I had so much fun! Russ is so cool! We all

flew to the store, bought all the stuff we needed to make more

pancakes, and we even bought bacon to go with it. The best part was

flying along with that huge jet when we were on our way home,"

Sasami giggled and hugged Russ, who blushed and scratched the back

of his head with his free hand.

Aeka looked up at him angrily, but then she forced herself to

calm down. "Please don't do that without me knowing, okay?"

"How come? She was perfectly safe the whole time. Besides,

she enjoyed it immensely, and I did too. Ryo-Ohki also seemed to enjoy the

flight," he said, patting her on the head as she meowed a loud

agreement.

Aeka sighed, and then shrugged her shoulders. "I just worry

about my sister. That's all."

"Sorry to make you worry. Would you like to have pancakes,

eggs, and bacon for breakfast? I'm going to make it for Tenchi and

Ryoko, so I thought maybe you'd like some as well. We bought plenty

of ingredients so there will be enough to go around for everybody."

She smiled, and nodded her head. "Thank you."

"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm glad to help out." He turned

and disappeared into the kitchen, followed by Sasami.

A half hour later, with the sun rising higher in the sky and the

temperature increasing even more, everybody sat around the table with

their stomachs full, complementing Russ on his American pancake

breakfast. Nobuyuki had come downstairs and Katsuhito also showed

up, but Kiyone and Mihoshi stayed in bed, despite the wonderful smells

floating in from outside of their door. Washu had even come out of her

lab again, trying to catch another look at Russ rather than to eat

breakfast, but she enjoyed it anyway. Russ smiled and blushed, not

accustomed to being the center of attention.

"I'm glad you all enjoyed your breakfast. I'll clean up the

mess, and then I'm going to go train outside. Let me know when and if

you'd like to have that little demonstration I mentioned last night."

Sasami smiled. "Let me help you." She lifted up all the dirty

plates and piled them in a neat stack, then carried them into the kitchen,

tailed by Russ. Everybody else continued to converse around the table

about the day's activities everybody had planned for himself or herself.

In the kitchen, Russ washed all the dishes in about ten seconds, and

then went outside, stopping near the waterline next to the lake, and

began his warm up exercise. A moment later Aeka went outside and

walked toward him. He stopped when he saw her.

"You can begin training with me whenever you want. Just let

me know when you're ready," Russ said, as he stood back up from

doing pushups.

She blushed. "Thank you for keeping me company last night.

That was very thoughtful of you. And I'm sorry for dozing off."

"It's okay. I kind of figured you needed someone to talk to,

besides someone else in the house. I appreciate the trust you've shown

in me as well... telling me all you did to a complete stranger. And

don't worry about falling asleep."

Aeka thought about it a moment and then smiled. "I don't

know why, but I do trust you. You're so nice and you seem so

innocent," she said, causing Russ to turn red. "But thank you anyway."

"Yeah. Anytime."

"Anyway... um... would you mind if we started training

now?" Aeka fumbled with her kimono and looked at Russ' feet.

"Are you sure you want to?"

She nodded her head, looking up to meet his gaze. "Yes."

"Well, okay. But um... you're not planning on training with

those clothes, are you?"

"Why not?"

"Well, they're very nice and I don't want you to get them

dirty," he said, and then thought of something. "I've got an idea. If

you don't mind, take off your kimono and some of your other clothes.

Let's get you something new to wear, just for training."

She turned completely red. "I'm NOT taking off all my

clothes," she shouted. "I can't believe you!" She balled her fists

together as the vein started popping out of her head.

Russ turned as red as a lobster. "No, no, no," he said, putting

up his hands. "Just remove your kimono and that second layer of

clothes of yours. I don't mean get naked. I'm going to give you some

new ones. Reason being is because the clothes you're currently

wearing disappear when I generate new ones. However, if there are

only one or two items, I can remove them as I generate the new clothes,

instantly, and add them to the pile you have there, but any more than

that just disappear."

She looked at his smile, sighed, and calmed down. She

carefully untied her sash and put it down on the ground. She then

removed her kimono, and then a second layer of clothes, piling them all

in a lumpy mass on the grass.

"Okay. Now what?"

Russ walked over to her. "Hold still a moment. This will feel

a little weird, but it won't hurt a bit, but it may surprise you. Close

your eyes and relax. This'll only take a second."

She still appeared apprehensive, but she calmed down a bit

more and closed her eyes, blushing all the while. Russ grinned, then

placed his hand on top of her head, and then yelled at the top of his

voice. A fraction of a second later, a bright white flash exploded

around Aeka, and a moment later, it faded away. She cringed and put

her arms up defensively, but Russ was already done.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now. And I must say, that

looks really nice on you."

Aeka slowly opened her eyes, and noticed her arms had a

black arm guard around them, which covered the back of her hands and

surrounded her forearms, that went almost up to her elbows. Her left

arm had a small, metal dragon armband that went around the top part of

her bicep, and her two long ponytails where now braided together into

one, tied at the end with a blue bow. She now had on black, combat

style boots, and her gi was tied around her waist with a pink sash. The

gi itself was orange-red, with golden yellow embroidery tracing around

the outside edges, with a yellow emblem on the front, which went

across her chest. Her pants that went with the gi were also orange-red,

which were tucked into her boots and under her shirt.

Aeka continued to look over herself as everybody ran out of

the house, wondering what that super bright flash was. Russ continued

to admire his handiwork, as Aeka looked up and smiled at him.

"So, do you like it?" He asked, grinning.

"Yes! It's so light and it fits great! How did you do that?"

Russ smiled. "It's one of my more useless abilities. I learned

it after Zorpheus and I had defeated some enemies on a deserted

planet." Russ started blushing again. "After our fight with our

opponents, our clothes were so torn up that we basically were... naked.

So I decided to learn how to generate clothes, like Piccolo had done.

Zorpheus never bothered to learn that ability though."

Aeka started to perspire but then giggled. "You fought the

rest of your battle, naked?"

Russ turned so red that she thought he was going to explode.

He swallowed and tried to calm down. "Yeah. After that fight I

absolutely had to learn how to do that to prevent that from happening

again."

At that moment, everybody else had run up to them, and they

stopped and stared at Aeka. She blushed slightly and smiled.

Sasami smiled and giggled happily. "You look great, Aeka!

It brings out the color of your eyes." She ran up to her sister and

looked her over, occasionally poking and feeling the material.

"That material can repel attacks too. Small ones," Russ said,

smiling. "My clothes are made out of the same stuff."

Tenchi, Washu, and Nobuyuki continued to look Aeka over,

giving her complements on her new outfit. Katsuhito and Ryoko didn't

say anything, but just smiled.

"Well, would you like to get started, Aeka?"

"With everybody around here?" She started to blush,

embarrassed.

"It will serve as another purpose. I'd like to see how easily

distracted you are. What I want you to do from this point on, is to

focus on me ONLY," he said. "When you're in a fight, a distraction

can open up your defenses and invite an attack. It may not be fatal, but

it's a free shot for your enemy."

Everybody backed up a ways and sat down on the grass,

interested to see what was about to happen. Katsuhito continued to

stand next to everybody, watching his half-sister carefully.

"Let's begin by simply sparring with each other, so I can

judge your skills. Do not hold back anything. You will not hurt me,"

he said with a grin, taunting her slightly. "Then I'll test your

endurance. Are you ready?"

"Yes." She took up a defensive stance, one that Russ actually

recognized.

"That's the Jurai royal family's form of martial arts.

Interesting," he said to himself. "Let's see what she can do."

"Ready! Begin," Russ shouted, as he assumed his own

defensive stance.

Neither opponent moved, but instead continued to stare at

each other intently, looking into each other's eyes, trying to determine

who was going to make the first move. Ryoko snickered near the

sidelines, figuring they just looked goofy standing like statues.

"Hey! You two do plan on moving today, right?" She

shouted from her seat on the grass, cracking up. Sasami glared at her,

but didn't say anything. Aeka, on the other hand, started to turn red a

bit as she tensed her fists and allowed her eyes to move over to her.

That was when Russ rushed her. He kept his ki super low, so

he didn't move anywhere near as fast as he could, as he yelled a

battlecry. Aeka's attention snapped back to her opponent, who was

now only a couple feet away with his fist pulled back. He aimed at her

face, but she moved to the side as it sailed over her shoulder. She

quickly brought up her knee and planted it in Russ' stomach, causing

him to catapult over it in total shock, due to his momentum, as choruses

of "oooh's" were said from the sidelines. He managed to recover in

mid-air and land on his feet as he spun back around to face her. She

now took the offensive and charged at him, trying to plant a kick in his

face, causing him to lean back a bit and catch her foot in his hands, and

then he used his own foot to kick Aeka's other leg out from under her,

causing her to fall to the ground. Russ quickly brought his foot back up

and tried to plant it in her midsection, but she rolled out of the way just

in time. She continued to roll away as she sprang back to her feet,

breathing heavily, more from the rush of battle than fatigue, and

resumed her defensive stance. Washu quietly called out their ki levels

as they fought, continuing to play with Russ' scouter.

"You're faster and stronger than I thought. I'm impressed,"

he said, cracking his knuckles. "However you need to work on your

concentration. Ryoko's outburst was enough to nearly catch you off

guard. That's bad news."

"She's distracting and annoying. She's always been like that."

"Hey! I'm not the one who almost got her face smashed in by

a flying fist, princess!" Ryoko yelled from across the yard.

Russ glanced over at Ryoko who was still taunting her, and

then he turned his attention back to Aeka, who was getting really mad

at her, as usual. "Hey Aeka. Ignore it. Look only at me. Listen only

to me. Do you understand?"

She looked back at Russ, her fists and teeth clenched together,

but when she saw the seriousness in Russ' face, she relaxed a little.

"I'm sorry. Let's continue."

"Don't worry. She's next. I can't stand someone who talks

big but can't do anything about it," he said, loudly enough for Ryoko to

hear. She looked back at Russ in shock, and then she sat back down

quietly, as she shot daggers at Aeka from her golden eyes.

Russ and Aeka both prepared to go for a second bout, taking

up their own defensive postures, staring each other down, trying to

entice the other into attacking. Finally Aeka's patience ran out as she

rushed Russ with a flying kick. He dodged to the side, but then Aeka

snapped her leg out, trying to catch him in the side of his head. He

ducked the blow, and then balled up his fist, trying to punch her in the

stomach. However, his fist hit nothing but air as Aeka moved out of

the way, but then she grabbed his outstretched arm and flung him away.

He once again regained his balance in mid-air and landed on his feet,

and then quickly as he was thrown away, he raced back at her, and

started a flurry of punches and kicks.

"Let's see how fast you can dodge and block this! HAAAA!"

he yelled, as he continued to perform random moves, which were all

impressively blocked, dodged, or parried. Russ increased his speed a

little more, and resumed his onslaught. Amazingly, Aeka seemed to

move a little faster as well, as she knocked a fist out of the way.

Suddenly, she saw an opening, and she started her own offensive. Russ

wasn't expecting it, but he was able to avoid her fist as it sailed through

his former position, but now it was Russ on the defensive, as Aeka

started her own flurry of punches and kicks. Russ swiftly blocked her

fists and dodged her kicks, trying to keep his ki from going any higher

and tipping the scale of balance even more into his favor.

"Wow! I never knew Aeka could move that fast! Isn't she

great?" Sasami asked from her seat on the grass.

"Yeah. Real fast. I can move faster than that," said Ryoko.

She felt the need to taunt Aeka further. "Hey Princess! Can you move

any slower? I think a snail just slithered by you!"

Aeka ignored her insults and increased her speed a little more.

In response, Russ did the same, as he now restarted his own offense.

He jumped back and ran at her, planning on kicking her right in the

stomach, but Aeka put up her forcefield, and Russ slammed into it full

force. Russ hung in mid-air, when Aeka dropped her forcefield and

planted a kick at his legs, sending him spinning to the ground. He

landed on his hands and sprang back to his feet.

"Excellent! That was a good tactic! That's what I like to

see," Russ grinned, as he raced at her once again with the intent of

performing the same thing as before. Aeka didn't see it coming and his

foot connected, sending her sprawling to the ground.

"But, you need to keep your guard up until the fight is over,"

Russ snickered.

Aeka groaned as she got back up and coughed a little,

evidence of pain on her face. Ryoko exploded laughing, clearly

enjoying that. Aeka glared at her, breathing hard, but didn't say

anything.

Russ finally had enough. "Take five, Aeka." He turned

toward Ryoko. "It's YOUR turn now, Ryoko. Come on down and step

up."

Ryoko stopped laughing as she looked at him, a slight hint of

anxiety on her face. "You mean me?"

"I don't see any other Ryoko's around here, do you? Get over

here. Let's see what you can do," he said, using his index finger to

motion her over.

Everybody turned to stare at Ryoko, who was now quite

apprehensive, but she rose from her seat on the ground. The gem on

her wrist started glowing as her clothes changed into a black and red

battlesuit. Russ looked on in mild surprise.

"Oooh, so she can change her clothes. Let's see what else she

can do," Russ said, snickering the entire time. Ryoko just stared at

him, a hint of anger in her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I make you mad?"

Russ tried his best to hide his humor, but Aeka let it all out. She

laughed out loud, clutching her stomach from the pain, but clearly

enjoying Ryoko's reaction.

Ryoko floated a short distance away from Russ, and turned to

face him. Russ just put on a crooked grin as he continued to taunt her,

using only his facial expressions. She knew what he was trying to do,

and it was working, as her anger continued to build.

"Are you ready, little girl? Playtime is over," Russ taunted, as

he assumed a different defensive posture, placing his left hand flat out

in front, with his other hand balled up into a fist next to his chest as he

stood sideways to her, placing his rear foot at a right angle to his other

foot, which was out front, facing Ryoko.

"Ohhh, do us all a favor and shut up, will you?" she scowled

at him, irritated at his insults. She faced him with her fists out front,

resembling a boxer rather than a martial artist. Russ just laughed.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road! You may begin when

you're ready, little girl," Russ said, straining to keep from falling over,

laughing. Tenchi looked worried while sitting on the sidelines, as he

had remembered of how strong Russ really was. He started to get up,

but Katsuhito put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

"She needs to learn a little humility. Let her fight

unimpeded."

"But Grandpa, what if she gets hurt?" He asked, clearly

distressed.

"He won't hurt her. He just wants to rough her up a bit.

Don't worry."

"Well, if you say so." Katsuhito looked at both of them as he

produced two bokkens from his kimono. Tenchi looked up at him in

total surprise.

"What are you doing?" he nearly shouted. "You can't fight

him!"

"I'm not going to interfere, but I'd like to see how I measure

up to him as well." Tenchi just shook his head in frustration.

"Ryoko's current energy level is a little higher than Russ' is.

Let's see what happens," Washu said, still glancing at the scouter's

pink window as they started to do battle.

Ryoko lifted off the ground and flew at Russ, trying to plant a

fist in his face, which he swiftly dodged as she sailed past, and then

spun around, planting a kick right on her butt, sending her flying a

short distance away. Russ exploded laughing, especially upon seeing

Ryoko's look of fury. Aeka also snickered from the sidelines, where

she took a seat next to Sasami, who smiled up at her sister.

"I'll get you for that," she screamed, as a bright orange ki

sword appeared in her hand, and she charged. Russ looked on in shock.

"What the hell? How did you do that?" he shouted, as he

raised his ki level to keep his speed faster than she could swing her

shimmering blade. She swung it in a frenzy, trying to hit him

somewhere. Anywhere. But Russ was just too fast for her. He flew up

into the air as Ryoko followed closely behind. He stopped and dodged

her sword as it sailed on through where his midsection used to be. He

quickly mounted an offense, punching and kicking rapidly, targeting

her arm and hand that held her sword. He quickly spun around, trying

to kick her hand in a roundhouse, but narrowly missed, and his foot hit

the base of her blade, but didn't do anything to his boot or foot. Russ

darted away as she swung it down at him again, narrowly missing an

attempt to slice him into two halves. Her sword vanished, but then she

hurled a small, orange energy ball at him, which Russ swatted away.

She stopped a moment and stared.

"Oh yeah?! Dodge this!" she shouted, as she gathered her full

power into another ball of energy, which she hurled at him. Russ saw it

coming, and he raised his ki much higher than it needed to be to survive

the blast, and allowed it to slam into him, which exploded, concealing

him in a cloud of smoke.

"Ryoko's energy level has gone up to just over two thousand,"

Washu exclaimed.

"Oh my god! Russ!" Aeka screamed from the ground.

"What did you do to him!?"

"Aeka, calm down. Just wait," said Katsuhito. Washu

checked her scouter, and confirmed there were two ki signatures.

Everybody stopped and waited for the smoke to clear. A few

moments later, everybody could see Russ floating in the middle, totally

unscathed, grinning from ear to ear. Ryoko looked on with mixed

horror and surprise. Everybody else just breathed a sigh of relief as

Aeka continued to give Ryoko her best, infuriated stare.

"Impressive, Ryoko. That was a pretty powerful blast you

threw at me. But tell me," he said, floating to the ground. "How did

you form a sword out of your energy?"

Ryoko also floated to the ground, never taking her eyes off of

him. "I really never thought about it. I just let the energy gather into

my hand and squeeze, and it forms into a blade."

"Really? That simple, eh?" Russ gathered a small green ball

of energy in his hand, and squeezed. Unfortunately for him, it

exploded, once again encasing him in a cloud of smoke. A light breeze

started blowing and it moved the smoke away, but Russ stood there

with his hand covered in a light coating of soot, and he coughed a few

times, waving the last of the smoke away from his face.

"I guess it ISN'T that simple, Ryoko," he said, grinning. "But

I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually." He brought his hands out in front

of him, wrist to wrist, forming his hands into a cup. "But now, let's see

how well you deal with this."

He swung his hands to his side as he started straining to put

energy into his hands. "Ka... Me... Ha... Me..." He yelled, his voice

echoing around and seeming to come from every direction. A bright

blue ball of ki swirled around in his hands, continuing to grow in

intensity and power. He decided to make the beam just strong enough

to stun her, but not do anything more than that. Everybody in the

audience gasped, even Katsuhito, as Washu watched the scouter go

crazy, calculating a new ki level just for the blast. She wasn't worried,

because the level of the blast was quite low.

"HAAAA!" He shouted at the top of his voice, as he swung

his hands back out in front of him, allowing the blue beam to roar out

of his hands, toward it's target. Ryoko continued to look on in horror,

as the beam neared her position. It didn't take long for the beam to

reach her, but she put up her hands in defense, trying to stop the

Kamehameha wave from blowing her away. The beam slammed into

her hands, causing her to slide back some ten feet before she stopped

and held the beam in it's place. Russ continued to pour a minuscule

amount of energy into the beam, and let her hold it back for a few

moments, as he snickered to himself.

"Very good, Ryoko!" He yelled over to her, who was still

struggling to keep the beam in its place. Russ cranked his ki up a little

higher, allowing the beam to expand a little in size and in force. Ryoko

strained even harder, doing her very best to keep the beam from

moving her. The wind it was generating was breathtaking, as

everybody shielded his or her faces from the blowing dust and debris.

Ryoko screamed in a fit of determination, and started to fight

back, pushing against his Kamehameha wave with all of her might.

She slowly started advancing, ever so slowly, which surprised Russ.

He smiled, as she continued to force her way forward, not wanting to

give up any ground to him, not wanting to lose to some stranger, since

she was the most powerful space pirate in existence!

Russ kept his beam steady, and let her continue to advance on

his position, but she was quite a ways off and she had a lot of ground to

cover before she'd finally make it to where he was standing.

Deciding she had enough, he lessened the power in his beam

and allowed it to fizzle out, slowly enough to keep Ryoko from falling

on her face. She stopped pushing and collapsed to her knees,

completely out of breath and panting hard to feed the oxygen to her

starving muscles. Russ calmly walked over to her and put a hand on

her shoulder, and looked into her golden yellow eyes, and smiled.

Tenchi sprang up from the audience and was about to run over, but he

stopped himself when he saw Aeka's face and the unhappiness written

on it, as she watched him.

"Excellent work, Ryoko. I'm very impressed that you were

able to hold back that amount of power. However, to put it bluntly,

don't open your big mouth when someone is training someone else,

because most of them will be able to make a fool out of you, without

even trying, okay?" Russ smiled.

She continued to breathe hard, but she managed a weak smile,

as Russ took her hand and helped her to her feet. He took a few steps

back and bowed out of respect, letting her know that their little scuffle

was over for today.

"You can train with me, along with Aeka, if you want. Just

when you do, do NOT make fun of anybody. Do you understand that?"

She nodded, as her breathing finally slowed to something

close to normal. "Thank you for your offer," she said, quietly. "I think

I may take you up on it, since I haven't had any real action around here

in a long time. I need the exercise."

Russ snickered evilly and leaned over to her. "Doesn't Tenchi

give you enough exercise?" he whispered, causing her to break out into

a cold sweat and turn super red.

"That's none of your business!" she shot back, glaring at him,

but then changing over to a grin.

Russ and Ryoko walked over to everybody, as they all smiled

and applauded for the show. Everybody congratulated Ryoko on her

prowess and determination, and then gave Russ a few complements.

Aeka even had managed to grumble out a few words of encouragement

to Ryoko.

Katsuhito stepped forward toward Russ, just within his field of

vision, so he turned around and looked at the two wooden swords

Katsuhito had in his hands.

"It's my turn now," he said, handing Russ one of the bokkens.

He looked at it, and then at Lord Katsuhito, and nodded.

"Okay. I'll try my hand at going against you, but I'm not

going to use a sword. It's not my style of weapon. But there is a

weapon that I am accustomed to using. Just a moment." Russ

zanzokened out of sight, and about five seconds later, reappeared in the

same spot, holding a broom handle. "My favorite weapon is a staff.

Will you fight against me and my broomstick?" Russ snickered, but

Katsuhito smiled and nodded.

"Not everybody uses a sword. Let's see how good you really

are with that thing," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly. Russ cocked

his eyebrow and smiled, as they both walked back out to the

battleground.

They stood about twenty feet apart, with Katsuhito holding his

bokken like a samurai warrior, and Russ, after doing a little

showboating with his staff, held it in a ready position, as he put on his

poker face, doing his best to not let Katsuhito know what he was

thinking. They continued to stare each other down, neither letting on to

what the other was considering.

Katsuhito looked at something over Russ' shoulder. "Hey,

what's..." he said, but he was cut off in mid sentence by Russ' charge,

totally surprised that his usual tactic didn't result in a lapse of

concentration, but rather, caught himself almost completely off guard.

A second later a loud crack of wood against wood signified the

beginning of a match. Russ backed off a moment.

"First one to touch the other person in the chest with a

weapon, wins the match," said Russ, as Katsuhito nodded in agreement.

They faced off once more, and this time Russ took the initiative again,

charging him with his staff spinning all around his body, trying to nail

Katsuhito in the head. The sound of the staff whipping through the air

could be heard all the way back to the audience, who watched in awe as

Katsuhito and Russ squared off.

Russ continued to spin the staff at a rapid pace, continually

using both sides to his advantage, as Katsuhito had to move twice as

fast to keep Russ' staff at bay. Katsuhito had never gone up against

anybody who used anything other than a sword before, and therefore,

he realized that he might need a bit of practice against Russ in the

future.

Russ continued his onslaught, mixing up his attack with the

staff with a variety of martial arts. Russ swung his staff at Katsuhito's

feet, which was blocked, and then he tried to kick Katsuhito in the face,

narrowly missing again, as Katsuhito nodded his head to the side, then

swung his bokken down at Russ' shoulder, which was dodged. Russ

swung his staff at Katsuhito's feet again, but he jumped over it, flipped

over Russ' head, and planted a kick onto his back, causing Russ to

move forward a few paces. He spun around, bringing his staff into

another defensive posture as Katsuhito brought up his bokken and

pointed it right at Russ' head.

"Very good. You're a very powerful warrior for someone

who lives on Earth," Russ said. "Let's see what other tricks you have

up your sleeve." Russ blurred out of sight but didn't rematerialize

anywhere. Katsuhito didn't move, but instead, closed his eyes,

concentrating, and waited. Everybody in the audience continued to

watch in suspense, waiting for Russ to reappear. Seconds felt like

minutes as Katsuhito remained still, patiently waiting for his chance to

strike. And a moment later, an opportunity presented itself, as Russ

rematerialized behind him. Katsuhito sensed it as he swung his bokken

in a wide arc, aimed directly at Russ' chest. However, Russ didn't

expect it, but he was fast enough to see it coming, as he zanzokened

away again, missing his own opportunity to strike. Russ rematerialized

a couple feet away, holding his staff at ready, as Katsuhito turned to

face him.

"How did Grandpa know he was going to do that?" Tenchi

asked in awe. His grandfather never ceased to amaze him.

"I have no idea. I see something new with him every time I

watch him," Washu said, continuing to watch the scouter and the battle

that continued to play out in front of them. "I wish I could study him

as well as Russ now." She blushed.

Aeka looked over at Washu and cleared her throat, which

Washu ignored. "Would you stop trying to make me think you're

trying to get him on a date or something?"

She looked over at Aeka and smiled. "Who WOULDN'T try

to get him on a date?" She laughed, which only got Aeka even more

irritated. "Hey, take it easy. I already told you I wouldn't ask him, and

I don't go back on my word."

"You could've fooled me." Aeka turned away from Washu

and looked Russ over once again.

"Hey Aeka?"

"Yes Sasami? What is it?" she said, turning toward her little

sister and smiling.

"How come you never came to bed last night? I waited up for

you a little while but then I just got so tired that I fell asleep," she said,

looking concerned.

"I'm sorry, Sasami. I accidentally fell asleep when Russ was

telling me about one of his stories. I guess he tucked me into his bed

and then he fell asleep on the floor. Earlier today, I couldn't figure out

why there was a bed on the floor, and then I remembered what

happened the night before. He's very thoughtful and nice."

Sasami smiled. "You've got a crush on him, don't you?"

Aeka started to blush. "Absolutely not. It's just..." she trailed

off and looked back at Russ, who was still battling against Katsuhito.

Sasami giggled lightly. "It's okay. He is very nice. I'm

happy for you," she said, blushing a bit herself.

"Aeka, why don't you ask him out on a date or something?"

asked Ryoko, looking concerned at her.

"Because I'm not that kind of woman," Aeka snapped,

blushing slightly. "Besides, we only met him yesterday and it is way

too early to think about a relationship." Her anger then turned to

unhappiness as she remembered what Russ told her originally. He

wasn't ready for a relationship, and he wasn't looking for one, either.

She sighed as she flopped back onto the grass, looking up into the sky,

hoping that someday, maybe he would ask her to be his, forever.

Ryoko noticed it and felt a little guilty. "Would you want me

to ask him for you?"

"No! One day we maybe will get involved, but as of right

now, it's just way too early."

"I'm sorry, Aeka. I didn't mean anything," Ryoko said, as she

watched Aeka with pleading eyes.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten all worked up over

that. I know you mean well."

Tenchi looked over at Aeka and felt a twinge of guilt creeping

up on him again. Once again he felt terrible at having to make that

accursed choice some time ago, especially while looking at Aeka and

her eyes, which told him all the emotions she was currently feeling. He

slowly got up and scooted over to her.

"I'm sorry, Aeka. I wish I never had to choose so long ago. I

knew that choice would shatter one of your hearts, and I regret having

to do that. I've never, ever, wanted to hurt either of you two, and I

never wanted to see either of you two hurt like that, ever again."

Tenchi watched Aeka's expression turn even unhappier as a tear fell

from one of her eyes. "However, now, you have a chance to start

something fresh and new, Aeka. He's standing right over there," he

said, pointing toward Russ, who was still trying to penetrate

Katsuhito's defense. "He seems different than anybody I've met

before. He's so casual, but hard working, always willing to lend a

helping hand. Give him a little time and stop dwelling on the past, and

I'm sure you'll be much happier."

Aeka sat up and faced Tenchi, trying to keep from sobbing in

front of everybody. "I understand what you mean. It's just that...

well... maybe I'm meant to be alone. I've had an attraction to two

people now. My brother," she said, looking at the aged Yosho, "and

you, Tenchi. But both of you, due to some other circumstance, turned

me down. Yosho didn't know how I felt, and with you, Ryoko

managed to win your heart, fairly." She sniffled as she brushed the

tears away from her face.

Tenchi wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her

into a hug. Ryoko didn't say anything, but turned her attention back to

the ongoing battle. "I'll never stop regretting breaking your heart,

Aeka. If I could've done things differently, I would have. You know I

would have."

"I know," she said, and she carefully removed his arm from

around her. "I also must stop living in the past and look toward the

future. I know I'll never change your heart, and I would never attempt

to, either. I'm sorry for ruining the mood here and bringing up my own

personal problems."

"It's okay. But, I've seen how much happier you've been

since Russ has arrived. I sincerely hope you find something in him,

and him in you. He'd be crazy to pass by someone like you," Tenchi

said, smiling.

Aeka sniffled, and then smiled as she wiped her face dry on

her gi. "Thank you, Tenchi. That means a lot."

"You're welcome. Now, let's see how..." Tenchi stopped

talking as Katsuhito hurled a white energy ball at Russ, who was flying

about two feet above the ground. The ball slammed into Russ' chest as

he started to fly away, but then he moved the ball aside and let it

continue its way, when it fizzled out. "Grandpa can shoot energy too?

Geez, when will I learn how to do stuff like that?" he chuckled, then

continued to watch the battle unfold, as Aeka watched Russ, smiling

and blushing the whole time.

"You're getting annoying, Lord Katsuhito. Take it as a

complement," Russ said, as he continued to swing the staff at a rapid

pace, still unable to nail him in the chest, as Katsuhito's sword was

nearly as agile as the staff. Both participants laughed a moment, and

then resumed their duel. Russ gathered up a small blue ball of energy

and hurled it at Katsuhito, who put up his forcefield, causing the ball to

ricochet off and crash into the ground several hundred feet away.

"Interesting. I knew you possessed the power, but I haven't seen you

use it until now. Let's see how much power you do have," he said,

snickering, as he prepared himself for another low-powered energy

blast, bringing both his hands out on front of them, wrist to wrist, but

not touching, and keeping his arms completely outstretched, as a small

yellow ball of ki appeared between his hands. Katsuhito saw him start

charging his energy, so he jumped back a couple dozen feet as he

brought his bokken back in front of himself.

"Final Flash!" he shouted at the top of his voice, allowing a

yellow beam to roar out of his hands. Katsuhito saw it coming, and

instead of doing a test of strength as Russ was expecting, he jumped

aside as the beam sailed past, and rushed him, bokken at his side,

preparing to slam the blade into Russ' torso. Totally catching Russ off

guard, he swung, and the blade passed right through where Russ stood,

slicing cleanly through him. A moment later, the afterimage of him

faded away, leaving nothing but air.

Katsuhito stood in the clearing, stumped, and wiped his brow

with the back of his hand. He was sweating, as he took in a deep

breath, and calmed himself down. "Hey Russ?"

He rematerialized a few feet away, holding his staff at ready.

"Yeah?"

"Want to call a draw for now?"

"We could, but I got a better idea." Almost instantly, Russ

was in front of Katsuhito, with the staff resting gently on his chest. "I

win."

He looked down on his chest and saw the staff resting on his

kimono, then smiled. "You're really fast. That was impressive. I was

going to once again try to distract you into letting down your defense.

However, you just moved so fast right there that I had no hope of even

blocking it. Excellent. You're a formidable opponent."

Russ bowed out of respect. "You are, too. You're much

better than I expected." They both turned and walked back toward the

audience, who were being unusually quiet. He noticed the quietness of

everybody and scratched his head. "What happened here? Why is

everybody being so quiet?" He looked over at Aeka and smiled, who

returned the sentiment.

"That was some demonstration there, Russ," Nobuyuki said

from the ground. Russ grinned in appreciation.

"Well, are you guys ready for the real demonstration now?"

Everybody looked at each other, then back at Russ.

"Real demonstration?"

"Yeah. I mentioned it last night. I'll show you a pale

comparison of what Zorpheus and myself are really capable of." He

took a few steps back and started straining, putting some power into a

special technique.

"Tri-form!" he growled, as his body became transparent. He

blurred as two more copies of himself emerged from his original form,

and then he became solid again, as there were now two clones of him

standing to either side. Everybody gasped, trying to figure out what

was going on. The middle Russ turned toward his two counterparts.

"Okay, you can charge up to maximum, but don't use the Kaioken

attack, and do not go Super Saiyan." Both counterparts nodded toward

each other as they both flew up into the air, and the original Russ sat

down next to everybody. "I'll explain what is going on, and I'll try to

help you see them once they get rolling. They're going to move so fast

that the human eye can't see it, so you'll need to focus on the energy

their bodies will be generating. I can help you with that." He looked

up and noticed the other two were about to begin. "Here we go."

Both Russ' screamed at the top of their voices. The sky turned

dark and the horizon glowed, as the wind picked up and started to swirl

around both individuals, and then both participants exploded in a huge

green flash, engulfing them both in green flame.

"Their power... is... at... one million, and climbing,"

stuttered Washu, as everybody gasped in awe. The ground started to

shake as many small rocks and pebbles started to lift into the air.

Azaka and Kamadake both appeared next to Aeka, and they both put up

a forcefield to shield everybody from the event.

"Big deal. So they can put on a show. Doesn't mean

anything," Ryoko sneered, glaring at Washu.

"No," Washu said, with a look of absolute terror on her face,

as the wind started to increase in velocity. "This is for real." Her look

worried Ryoko, as she looked back up to the two combatants. "They're

now at two million, and still climbing..."

Both Russ' continued to power up, howling in excitement,

pain, and anticipation. The scouter over Washu's ear was still

recalculating a power level for each individual. After about a minute of

powering up, the shaking subsided and the wind calmed down, as both

of them stared at each other.

"They're... at... four million, seven hundred thousand.

Incredible." Washu continued to look at the scouter's window in

disbelief, since she couldn't sense an energy level as high as Russ'

currently was.

"You think that's incredible, just you wait until they start

fighting," Russ said, grinning. "They're going to put on a show like

you've never seen before. And there they go"


	7. Chapter 7

Ep 7 - Power

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real attempt

at a fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi TV) and the

OVA so most of the main characters you've seen from there will

appear here as well. It also crosses a bit with Dragonball Z with the

existence of Dragonballs and immensely powerful warriors. Ryoko

and Tenchi had finally chosen to be together, and Aeka is still living at

the house for now. You'll see when it happens. Anyway, I'll stop

flapping my yap and let you get right to the story. Enjoy! Send all hate

mail / fan mail to .

Sleeping peacefully after a hard day's worth of work, Kiyone

and Mihoshi lay on their futons, engrossed in a deep slumber. The sun

was poking it's way through their window and it lay across their

bedspread, but stayed away from their faces, almost as if it knew

enough to let them sleep. Mihoshi shifted to a more comfortable

position, the only noises made were a soft moan and the sound of fabric

rubbing against fabric. Kiyone drew in a deep breath and stirred

slightly, but then drifted back to sleep a second later.

The sun, which was shining brightly, began to grow dark, as

the wind outside of their window increased in velocity. Mihoshi turned

over again, pulling the blanket over her head to drown out the noise

from the wind. A few moments later, a pair of loud, primal screams

roared into their ears, as they both sat bolt upright in their beds and

immediately looked outside their window.

"What is going on here?! Why is the sky so funny looking?

Who screamed?" Kiyone threw back her covers as she ran to the

window. Mihoshi stretched and yawned, totally unconcerned at what

was going on around her, until the house began shaking. Her eyes went

wide as she also shot out of bed and grabbed onto Kiyone's waist.

"Waaahh! Kiyone! What's happening here? I'm scared!"

Mihoshi squeezed even harder, causing Kiyone to start making

croaking noises. "Kiyone?" She looked up at her face, which was

turning blue, and then let go. Kiyone collapsed to the floor, taking in

deep breaths from being crushed.

"It's an earthquake or a tornado, you idiot! We've got to get

out of here!" Kiyone bolted for the door followed closely behind by

Mihoshi. They ran down the stairs and outside the back door and into

the yard. Stopping and staring at the two bright green lights over the

lake, they noticed everybody sitting on the ground, staring at the same

thing. They quickly ran over to find out what the heck was going on.

Mihoshi watched in awe, as they ran over. "Oh wow, look at

the pretty green lights!" She giggled. "I wonder what they're doing

here though?"

"What is going on here?" Kiyone shouted over the roar of the

wind and the rumbling of the ground, which subsided a few moments

later. A second after that, both green lights vanished, and were

replaced with a massive shockwave in between the two, nearly blowing

everybody over onto their backs.

The original Russ jumped behind everybody, his own ki

exploding around him as he yelled at the top of his voice, and put up a

huge ki dome over everybody's head, shielding the house as well. He

remained standing with is fists and teeth clenched, as he concentrated

on keeping the shield up. A second later, a white light engulfed him as

his karate gi changed from green to blue. Azaka and Kamadake

cautiously lowered their own forcefield.

"Hey! Can you hear me? What the heck is going on here?!"

Kiyone shouted at the very top of her voice. Aeka, Ryoko, and Tenchi

all turned toward her and waved her over. "Would someone PLEASE

tell me what is going on?"

"Russ is giving us a demonstration of what's to be expected to

happen when Zorpheus arrives," Tenchi shouted. "Remember from last

night?"

Kiyone thought a moment, and nodded her head. "Who is

fighting? Russ is standing right over there!" She shouted, pointing a

finger at the original Russ, who was continuing to concentrate, holding

the shield up.

"Russ split himself into three parts! Two of them are up there

fighting, and I guess the original is the one standing over there!" A

moment later, an intense shockwave caused the ground to shudder,

despite the shield.

Everybody turned back toward the battle, but they couldn't see

anything except the many shockwaves that were exploding in the air.

An instant later, both combatants became visible, and then vanished

again, resulting in another shockwave.

"Hey Russ! What's going on? We can't see anything!"

Tenchi yelled over the loudness of the sonic booms.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," he said, through clenched teeth.

Continuing to concentrate, he made his way over to the group and knelt

down, his green ki still burning around him. "Relax a moment." Russ

placed his hands on Tenchi and Ryoko's shoulders, causing them both

to cringe slightly, as a white shimmering glow engulfed his hands, and

a moment later, the glow made it's way to their heads.

"Whoa, what the" Tenchi stuttered, as the dual Russ' started

to become visible. At first, they were only green streaks, slamming

into each other at an incredible pace, but within a few seconds, both of

their bodies became completely visible.

Everybody else turned to look at Ryoko and Tenchi, watching

them as their eyes and heads darted all over the place, as they could

now plainly see what was going on. Russ stood up and moved over to

Katsuhito and Nobuyuki and did the same thing, and then moved over

to Aeka and Sasami, and then over to Kiyone and Mihoshi, and finally

he made his way to Washu, and once again performed the same

technique. He moved over to Azaka and Kamadake. "Can you see

them?"

"No. They're moving too fast," said Kamadake.

"Well, let's see if this works on you. It's harmless, so even if

it doesn't work you won't be damaged or injured." Russ placed his

hands on the two logs and once again the while glow emanated from

his hands, and transferred itself inside the wooden guardians. "Can you

see them now?"

"Yes! Oh my, are they fast," said Azaka.

Russ looked over at Ryo-Ohki, who was sitting on top of

Sasami's head. "Can you see them, Ryo-Ohki?"

She meowed a response and shook her head.

"Okay, let's try this then." He placed his hand on her head,

lightly petting her as the white glow transferred itself to her mind.

Immediately she started meowing like crazy and watching the action

unfold. He laughed and then backed off some ways and resumed his

stance, concentrating solely on keeping the shield up.

"Incredible. Look at them go! Man, are they fast!" Tenchi

shouted over the shockwaves, from his seat on the ground, has his eyes

followed the battle.

Both Russ' stopped for a moment, and one of them engulfed

himself in a bright white flash, and his green gi became orange, so now

everybody could tell them apart. Almost as instantly, the orange Russ

raced at the one in green and tried to slam his fist into the other's gut,

but it was blocked, resulting in another massive shockwave, rumbling

the ground as if a bomb went off nearby. The one in green retaliated by

swinging his foot at the other's head, narrowly missing as the orange

one ducked, then brought his own leg up to kick the one in green in the

side, but was blocked. The one in green grabbed the orange Russ' leg

and hurled him into the ground, but he managed to stop himself about a

foot above the ground and zanzokened away, just as the green Russ

tried to slam his arm into the other's chest. The green Russ spun

around in time to see a blue energy ball being hurled at him from

above, and he punted the energy ball away, causing it to sail into outer

space and explode.

Seeing an opportunity, the orange Russ raced at the one in

green, slamming him in the face with his foot and sending him crashing

into the lake, creating a huge splash that went nearly a hundred feet in

the air. Charging up energy in his hands, he let loose a hailstorm of

energy balls into the water, causing many more small explosions that

churned the water as if in a hurricane. A second later a huge, blue

energy ball rocketed out of the water, heading straight for the orange

Russ. He quickly blurred away and rematerialized a few feet away, just

as the blast sailed through his former position. Barely having time to

think of an attack, another ball of energy was heading straight for him,

forcing him to zanzoken away to another spot. Now, expecting another

energy ball, he braced himself for the blast, which never came. The

green Russ phased into existence behind the orange one, and tried to

slam his fists into his back, but narrowly missed, as his opponent spun

around with his foot outstretched, trying to kick him in the chest. The

green one blocked it and grabbed his foot, ready to throw him into the

ground, but the orange one spun around, using his captured foot as a

pivot, and brought his other leg up, successfully smashing his leg into

the green one's head. He recovered quickly and began a barrage of

punches and kicks, which were blocked or dodged.

Getting irritated, both Russ' landed on the ground and raced at

each other, locking both their hands together in a test of strength. Their

green ki exploded around them, as one tried to overpower the other.

The ground shaking grew even more intense, as a crater started to form

under both of their feet. Their grunting and yelling could just barely be

heard over the roar of their ki and the earthquake they were causing.

The orange Russ lost patience and slammed his foot into the green's

stomach, forcing him to break the hold and jump back.

The dual Russ' zanzokened away, reappearing back in the air,

where a flurry of punches and kicks ensued. Both tried to make an

offense, but every attack was countered with an identical attack from

his counterpart. Fists and feet slammed into each other, causing more

shockwaves. The green Russ zanzokened a dozen feet away and hurled

a blue energy ball at his opponent, who swatted it away easily, but the

distraction worked. The green Russ zanzokened behind the orange one

and slammed him on top of his head with both his hands, causing him

to fall like a screaming bomb and slam into the ground, making a small

crater. He quickly got back up and shot back into the air with a green

vapor trail following him, both fists out in front, trying to slam them

into the other's stomach. The green Russ shot off higher into the air,

also leaving a green vapor trail, as the one in orange caught up. Both

Russ' slammed into each other multiple times at a mind-blowing rate,

creating many sonic explosions. They both turned around and raced

back down toward the Earth, as they both blurred out of vision,

reappearing across the yard, where another flurry of punches and kicks

ensued. They both zanzokened out of sight, but this time they

reappeared about five feet in front of everybody, just outside the shield

perimeter, where they continued to exchange punches. They landed on

the ground, continuing to try to break though the other's defense. The

orange one finally connected a punch on his opponents jaw, sending

him flying through a tree over two hundred feet away. The tree trunk

shattered under the force of the blow, and fell over.

"Good god, they're going to destroy each other!" Tenchi

shouted over the noise, looking over at everyone. Nobody seemed to

notice Tenchi's outburst, as they were all transfixed on the battle.

Ryoko leaned over to Tenchi. "I'm sure glad he's on our side!

There's no way I could compete with something like this," she shouted.

"He's the fastest person I've ever seen. He could have really hurt us

when he was sparring with us earlier!"

"You're not kidding," he responded. Looking behind him at

the original Russ, his concern increased a little as he saw the sadistic

grin on the blue Russ' face, even though he was still concentrating on

holding the shield to keep the shockwaves at bay.

"Hey Washu! Can you explain what's going on? How is this

even possible?" Ryoko yelled over to her mother.

"I have no idea! This is the first time I've ever documented

something like this," she shouted back. "Their power level has neither

increased or decreased during the duration of this battle. I wonder if

he's capable of even MORE power," she yelled, looking back at Russ.

Her phantom computer materialized in front of her as she typed in a

frenzy, documenting everything she was watching.

The Russ in blue grinned at the comment, knowing full well

that he could easily blow away what they're currently observing. Just

doing a Kaioken Attack at level two would double his power and speed.

And going Super Saiyan would increase it by at least a factor of fifty,

but it required a lot of energy to transform, so he didn't do it often. Not

only that, but the violent emotions a Super Saiyan experiences also

deterred him from going to that mode.

Katsuhito continued to watch intently, observing his moves

and his attack style. Never before seeing this style of fighting, it was

quite a learning experience. Several of Russ' moves that he watched he

figured he'd remember, and try them out during a sparring match with

Tenchi. Even though Tenchi was no match for him, it was good

practice. Even better, he wanted to learn Russ' technique and style of

fighting in its entirety, just in case his current style, even though super

secret and rare, failed him. However, he knew he couldn't reveal his

own style of fighting, unless Russ learned it from that little sparring

match earlier.

"I should've brought my camera out here to record this,"

Nobuyuki said to Katsuhito. "This is great action stuff!"

"Sorry, but a camera wouldn't be able to pick up their

movements," Russ shouted from behind, just barely hearing his

comment. "I had to enhance your own senses just so you could see

them!" Nobuyuki looked disappointed, but that quickly melted away as

both Russ' materialized a couple dozen feet away, exchanging fists and

kicks.

Aeka continued to watch with mixed emotions. This wasn't

the guy she sat with last night. This one was bloodthirsty and

extremely violent. She felt frightened of this side of Russ, as they

continued to battle out in front, and the one behind her watched with

amusement.

*What am I getting myself into? I had no idea he was like

THIS! Did I make a mistake in trusting him? What if he turned against

me in a fit of rage? I could never defend myself against him, and

neither can anybody else here not even Ryoko!* Continuing to

watch the battle unfold, Aeka thought about him a little more. *He did

say that he was here to defend the Earth, so his motives are good. And

he was very nice to me last night, and he never tried to take advantage

of me either. Maybe his heart is in the right place, but why is he so

violent? And why is he enjoying this? It's barbaric!* She wrung her

hands in front of her. *Should I really give him a chance? So far, he

hasn't done anything wrong, and he's been helpful and very nice to

everybody, even that monster woman.* She glared over at Ryoko who

was intently watching the battle, huddled next to Tenchi. *At least that

fight is over with.*

The orange Russ zanzokened to the ground and brought his

hands out in front of him, charging an energy beam. "Big Bang

Attaaaaaaack!!!" He screamed at the top of his voice, as a monstrous

yellow beam roared out of his hands, streaking it's way toward the

Russ in green. The force of the beam blew all the dust out from under

him, resulting in a huge windstorm and another shockwave, just from

the launching of the beam.

The green Russ saw it coming, and prepared a counterattack.

As the beam reached him, he slammed his fist into it, altering its course

directly for the Misaki home. Everybody except for Katsuhito

screamed in horror, as the beam neared the house's position.

The Russ in blue saw it change course and start its descent.

Realizing that he wasn't generating enough energy to keep a forcefield

of that size intact, he had to power up even more. "Kaioken Attack

times TWO!" he screamed, as his ki turned from green to red, and

burned with an intense fury, as his power shot through the roof.

Washu's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when the

scouter beeped and started recalculating his new power level.

Russ realized that it probably still wasn't enough to stop a

blast of that size. "TIMES THREE!" he screamed, as his ki and energy

expanded even further and higher, and he braced for the impact.

Washu and Katsuhito almost immediately started suffering an intense

headache as his power skyrocketed, and the scouter recalculated his

new level again. The Big Bang Attack slammed into the shield,

cracking with overwhelming energy and causing a minor tremor. It

then exploded, doing no damage at all to the house and the surrounding

area.

The two Russ' stopped their fighting and floated back down to

the ground in front of everybody, as the Russ in blue disengaged the

Kaioken and returned his ki level to normal, and his ki changed back

from red to green. The splitting headache both Katsuhito and Washu

had immediately subsided.

Washu rubbed her temples and checked the scouter. "I I

don't believe it. This has to be a mistake. It calculated your energy

level at fourteen million, one hundred thousand! How is that

POSSIBLE? How much more energy are you hiding?" She yelled,

even though it was now quiet, since the battle ceased.

"I told you, the four million, seven hundred thousand was my

base power level. I can go much higher than that using special

techniques," Russ said, looking insulted.

"HOW much higher?"

"A lot higher than what I'm leading on here. I can't say for

certain, and I'm not going to try powering up to my maximum. Not

only that, but that scouter cannot measure a level as high as mine."

"Wow. And you need to get stronger than what you are

already?" She asked, eyeing him. "That's absurd! You're the

strongest person I've ever seen, in both real life and documented

history!"

Russ chuckled. "Thanks, but I'm no where near the strength

of some of the other Saiyan warriors that have lived. Their history

documents were few and far between, so it's no wonder you don't

know about it." Remembering what went on a moment before, he

glared at his two counterparts. "Try to be more careful with those ki

attacks. I was fortunate to see it coming and had enough time to

counter that."

Both Russ' nodded toward the one in blue, and faced each

other again, then blurred out of sight to continue their battle.

"One other thing you guys," the Russ in blue began. "Do not

try to sense a power level like mine when I'm charged up that high.

Just try to block it out. That headache can get much worse than what

you experienced, depending on how high I go." He rubbed his chin.

"If you guys had a higher ki level for yourselves, there wouldn't be a

problem." Russ turned toward Washu. "That scouter has a limit of

twenty million. After that, it usually either shuts down, or explodes

from overload, but I don't need to go that high today."

*So he can go up to at least twenty million now. Amazing.

I'm going to have to see if I can get this scouter to calculate an

estimated level for him, or build a machine that can do that.* Washu

grinned evilly a moment and then glanced at Russ.

Washu and Katsuhito nodded, then turned their attention back

to the orange and green clothed Russ' as they prepared to go into round

two, their green ki burning intensely around each of them when they

both rocketed off into the air. As they both reached the apex of their

ascent, the green Russ zanzokened to a lower position and started firing

hundreds of small yellow energy balls, all of which were screaming

like fireworks to his opponent. Just before they reached their target, the

orange Russ blurred out of sight and rematerialized about fifty feet

away, as the energy blasts sailed through his former position and went

up in a crescendo of miniature explosions. The green Russ quickly

changed his target and continued firing, as the orange one raced off,

dodging all the blasts that came too close to him. He quickly changed

direction, making a beeline back for the green Russ, charging his own

ki blast and launching it quickly, as the many smaller blasts from the

green one bounced harmlessly off the much larger energy blast.

Realizing it was going to slam into the ground and cause all

kinds of damage, the blue Russ quickly blurred in between the green

Russ and the energy blast, and gave it a roundhouse that sent it out of

Earth's orbit.

"I told you guys to be more careful!!!" He snarled at both his

counterparts. Almost as instantly, he got another idea to make things

more interesting. Slamming his foot into the green one's chest, sending

him crashing into the ground, the blue Russ sped off to the orange one

and started his own flurry of punches and kicks. A moment later the

green Russ materialized next to both of them, and attacked the Russ in

blue. It quickly became a double team, as both the green and orange

Russ attacked him, as he speedily dodged, blocked and parried all their

blows.

Everybody on the ground continued to watch in bewilderment

as now all three Russ' were now in a frenzy, trying to land a blow on

each other at a rapid pace. The orange one finally succeeded and

planted a foot in his stomach, sending him to the ground. The blue one

landed on his feet as he blocked another attack by the green one as he

sailed past and landed behind him. Landing in front of him, the orange

one took up a defensive stance as the one behind him prepared to

attack. The Russ in blue placed both his hands toward his opponents

and let lose a large energy beam from his hands, slamming into both

participants, knocking them back hundreds of feet. A moment of

silence ensued, as he stood idly and smirked, and glanced back at

everybody, watching their faces smiling at their reactions. He

zanzokened behind everybody and put up the ki shield once more, and

told his two counterparts telepathically to put on one giant, grand

finale.

The orange and green Russ' appeared in the sky, hundreds of

feet apart, as they both began charging their signature energy attack.

Both participants placed their hands outstretched in front of them,

palms facing outward, as a yellow energy ball formed out in front,

crackling with blue lightning bolts, that was surrounding the yellow

sphere, which was continuing to grow in size.

"This is it! Hold on to your sanity!" Russ shouted from

behind everyone. Both energy balls were now nearly six feet in

diameter, and still growing. The crackling of the blue lightning bolts

continued to grow more intense, as the size of the ball finally started

touching both hands.

Finally, the ball was finished charging, as it was now ten feet

in diameter. "BUSTER CANNON FIRE!!!!" They screamed in

unison. Massive, yellow energy beams roared out of the balls,

surrounded in blue lightning, and slammed into each other in between

both participants, making one of the largest shockwaves ever seen.

Some trees were uprooted and flung away like toothpicks, but the

ground remained intact. The floating onsen was tossed around a little,

but fortunately, it was a very stable structure. The roar of both beams

was deafening, as everybody shielded their faces, even though the

forcefield protected them. The force of the shockwave slammed into

the shield, causing a large tremor in the ground and the air, and then the

only thing remained were hurricane forced winds and the roar of the

beams.

The two heads of the beams were in the middle of both the

orange and green Russ', as they began a massive test of strength and

will. Both continued to scream and apply pressure, but neither wavered

nor gave any ground to the other. Unconsciously, they both began to

apply even more power to the beams, causing them to grow even larger

and more intense, but keeping their own ki level steady.

Nobody could see the two Russ' anymore, since they were

both hidden behind the energy ball that the beams were coming from.

It was so bright that it was difficult to even look at, but everybody

shielded their eyes and watched, waiting to see what was going to

happen and who was going to win.

The head between both beams finally had gotten so big from

the buildup of energy, that it started growing unstable, and lost its

round shape. Both Russ' saw it at the last moment, but it was too late.

The mass of energy between the two detonated, and went up like a

hydrogen bomb, engulfing both participants in the explosion.

The Russ on the ground moved his shield as quickly as he

could. "Kaioken Attack Times THREE," he screamed, and attempted

to contain the blast, but some of the energy leaked out of it, but not

enough to cause any damage. The two doppelgangers inside the shield

were consumed, as the explosion finally died down and faded away,

leaving nothing but a ball of smoke. Russ wiped the back of his head

with his hand, lowered the forcefield, and disengaged the Kaioken, as

the sky and wind returned to normal, and all the shaking of the ground

subsided.

The sun was shining and the birds were once again chirping,

even though it looked like a hurricane had hit the place, but for the

most part, the area was undamaged. The ball of smoke blew away, but

incredibly, both the green and orange Russ' were floating in mid-air,

totally unscathed, aside from scuffed clothes. They landed on the

ground in front of the blue one, bowed, and merged with the original.

Russ turned toward everybody and bowed, acknowledging the stunned

look on everybody and grinning.

"So what did you think?"

Silence answered him as they all continued to stare, unable to

speak or say anything from the shock. Russ just grinned even wider,

knowing he wowed them good.

Katsuhito was the first to recover from the display, and he

smiled, walked over, and put his hand on Russ' shoulder. "That was

absolutely amazing. I'm certainly glad you're on our side."

Russ smiled and bowed again. "Thank you. I'm glad you

enjoyed the show."

"Well, I need to get back to the shrine now. I'll see you later."

Katsuhito turned and slowly walked back toward the steps, grinning the

whole time.

"Well, what about the rest of you? Impressed?"

Most everybody nodded, and then smiled, as they began to

idly chatter with each other, and with Russ. Aeka stood up and walked

over to him, concerned about something. "You looked like you were

enjoying that. Were you?"

Russ was taken aback, but he then faced the ground, unable to

meet her gaze. "I'm a Saiyan. I have the blood of a warrior race

flowing through me. The only time I'm really, truly happy, is when

I'm fighting, or preparing for a fight." He realized that what he had

done was in total contrast as to the side he allowed Aeka to see

yesterday. "Yes, I did enjoy that. I enjoy fighting the most. It was the

original reason my race existed. To fight." He gazed into Aeka's

amethyst eyes, not knowing what else to say that would make much of

a difference. "I'm sorry, Aeka. But this is a side of me that exists, and

cannot be ignored."

In total bewilderment to Russ, she smiled and nodded her

head. "I'm glad you were honest. I've never met a Saiyan before you."

"In reality, it isn't often that I actually DO fight. Most of the

time the side you see of me is what I've been this whole time, being

nice, friendly, and calm. I would never do anything to hurt any of you.

All of you have been so nice to me and didn't care about my

appearance, or my race, or why I really came. And when I did tell you

why I came, it still didn't matter, and you continued to show me

kindness. That's something that I'll always hold dear to me." Russ

smiled and nodded his head. "Anyway, I worked up quite a sweat, so

I'm going to go take a bath and cool off for a while. It's super hot out

here."

Everybody nodded in agreement as they all stood up to go

back inside.

"I'll fix us some lemonade to cool off with," offered Sasami.

"It'll only take a few minutes."

"That sounds good Sasami! Let's go." Tenchi and company

went inside the house, leaving Russ in the middle of the field.

"Whew, man it's hot. Feels like a hundred degrees with this

humidity." He looked up at the onsen and decided against going in.

"I'll just jump in the lake and cool off for a while." He leapt into the

air a good twenty feet, and dove into the water, cannonball style,

creating a huge splash. Coming up for air a moment later, he shook the

water out of his hair, took in some deep breaths, and disappeared

beneath the surface of the water again.

Russ caught sight of a large fish swimming by, and deciding

to test his reflexes, he shot off after it, chasing it all over the lake

bottom. Using his ki to propel him even faster, he caught up with the

doomed fish and grabbed its tail, then brought it to the lake surface,

breaking through the surface to get another breath of air. He let the fish

go and let it swim away, watching it until it got out of sight.

Feeling more relaxed, he began floating on his back,

concentrating on nothing at all except for the sound of the water

lapping up against his ears and the coolness of the water. He continued

to relax for another ten minutes, then jumped out of the water, soaking

wet. Powering up slightly, he snapped his ki around him, drying him

and his blue gi almost instantly, and feeling the heat rush back to his

skin from the hot and humid summer air.

A few moments later, he got an idea and teleported to his

spacepod, opened it up and reached inside, producing a large stereo

boom box, and a handful of CD's. Teleporting back to the house, he

flew up to his window and landed inside, placing his stereo on the desk

and the stack of CD's next to it. "Oh man, it's even hotter up here than

it is outside," he grumbled to himself. He picked up his stereo and the

CD's again and flew back outside, closing the screen behind him, and

made his way over to the shrine. He spied a large cliff overlooking the

lake and made his way over there, and landed under a tree, sitting down

and resting the stereo and CD's next to him, as he took in the view over

the bluff. He sighed peacefully and rested his back against the tree, and

he picked out the first CD he wanted to play, put it in the player, and

picked out the first song he wanted to hear.

Cranking up the volume, the music began with what sounded

like some sort of Indian chant with a drumbeat, and then a full

orchestra kicked in.

A young girl began singing:

[In Japanese]

"The dark night sky above,

Exists to expose our hearts as,

They call out to each other,

When the two of us are apart."

The orchestra increased to an apex, and the girl continued to

sing, as Russ closed his eyes and allowed his imagination to take him

away. He thought back to the original animation he heard the theme

from, Record of Lodoss War - Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, and the

name of the song, Kiseki No Umi. He increased the volume of the

stereo a little more, listening to the fullness of her voice and the power

of the orchestra, as he took in a deep breath, and mentally replayed the

introduction to the show in his mind, seeing the dragons soaring across

the screen, and the main characters, as they sat on the horse and

charged through the field.

Inside the house, everybody sat in the living room, drinking a

tall, ice-cold glass of lemonade. Tenchi and Ryoko sat together on the

love seat. Ryoko continued to flirt with Tenchi, as she slid her hand up

to his crotch, causing him to turn blue in the face, but he managed a

grin in Ryoko's direction, which only caused her to flirt even more.

Nobuyuki continued to watch the two out of the corner of his eye, not

wanting to look directly at them since he knew what Tenchi's reaction

was going to be. Ryoko leaned over to Tenchi and whispered

something in his ear, making Tenchi redden. She continued to whisper

naughty things as Tenchi continued to blush even harder, and

eventually a little trickle of blood started to stream out of his nose. She

giggled and slid herself closer to him. "And don't think I won't,

either," she whispered seductively. Tenchi just shook his head as he

tried to force himself to calm down.

"Come on, Ryoko," he hissed. "Please don't do this in front

of everybody. It's embarrassing!"

"I know, that's why I do it," she said, giggling, and staring

lustfully into Tenchi's eyes.

Kiyone and Mihoshi sat on the couch, next to Nobuyuki, since

they didn't feel tired anymore, and didn't have to go back to work for a

couple days, unless there was an emergency. Kiyone thought about

how much of a burden they were to the house, and had been debating

on moving out, to live on their own. Of course, Mihoshi probably

wouldn't like the idea, but Kiyone felt that she didn't do enough to

deserve to stay at the house, living and eating for free. She was the

responsible one, and she did not want to mooch off of anybody any

longer. Deciding on bringing it up later to Mihoshi, she steeled a

glance at Tenchi and Ryoko, and blushed when she saw Ryoko's look

of lust as she continued to flirt with Tenchi.

Aeka looked around, choosing to ignore what was transpiring

on the loveseat, and realized Russ was absent. "Where's Russ at? He

got out of the lake a short while ago and then vanished."

"I don't know. He's probably outside somewhere," answered

Sasami. Ryo-Ohki meowed an agreement, as she was now perched on

Sasami's shoulder.

Aeka frowned slightly. "Oh, okay. I'm going to go take this

glass of lemonade to him. I'm sure he's really hot from that massive

fight he put on for us outside."

Nobuyuki rose from the couch and reached into his pocket,

drawing out his car keys. "I'm going to be going shopping for a while.

I saw something that caught my interest, and it would give me an

opportunity to get myself into a hobby. I'll be back in a while. See

everybody later, and keep cool." He walked out the kitchen door and

then turned around. "Oh yeah, thanks for the lemonade, Sasami. That

was great."

She smiled. "You're welcome father. I'll make more later."

He nodded and left the living room.

Aeka filled up two glasses of lemonade and tossed in some

ice, and also left the house. She made her way over to the stairway

leading up to the shrine, and proceeded to make her way to Tenchi's

training area.

About half way up the stairway, she could hear some music

coming from a little higher up the hill. Curious about what she was

listening to, she made her way over to the bluff, and listened for a few

moments, as she saw Russ sitting under the tree with the stereo next to

him. The music was very soothing and unusual, as she watched him.

*Wow. He went from a rampaging barbarian to one of the calmest

people I've ever seen. And he has good taste in music too.* She

quietly crept over to where Russ was sitting, when he opened his eyes

and looked directly at her, and smiled.

She returned his smile, as Russ turned down the volume of the

stereo. "I've brought you some lemonade," she said, as she handed

over the glass, which was dripping with condensation.

"Thank you very much," he said, then took a drink. "Ahhh.

This is great! I didn't think lemonade could taste this good."

"Sasami made it."

"Oh? I'll have to thank her," he said, and rested his head back

against the tree, as the music continued to its finale.

"Why didn't you come inside after you got out of the lake?"

Russ looked uneasily over at Aeka. "I'm not much for groups.

I'm more of a loner," he said, as he looked away. "I've been alone for

a long time. Zorpheus and I used to hang around together when we

were partners and allies, but that ended some time ago. And before I

met him, I never really had any friends, so I was alone then, too."

Russ slid over a little as Aeka sat down next to him and leaned

back against the tree. She was still clothed in the karate gi that he had

given her earlier. They both sat in silence, taking in the peaceful

serenity of the land, and the comforting rhythm of the music, until it

finished and quieted down, allowing the ambient noises of the forest

and the light breeze overtake their ears.

"That was very pretty. I had no idea you liked music like

that."

Russ reopened his eyes and looked over at Aeka. "Most

people assume the kinds of music they like by their appearance. I do

that. When I saw you, I imagined a few tunes that I figured would suit

you almost perfectly." Russ grinned. "You probably thought I was

more into heavy metal or techno, or something like that. Well, if you

did, you're partially correct. I love a large variety of music." He

reached over to the stereo and selected another song from the hundreds

of titles on his CD. "Listen to this one," he said as the stereo began

playing, the sound of a guitar strumming some chords, and a male

singer began, as a bunch of electronic instruments and loud music

began thumping through the speakers.

[In English]

"I wanna take you on a roller coaster,

I wanna tell you that I'm feeling closer,

I wanna push it right over the line,

I wanna push it right over the line,

The line

The line"

Aeka cringed a moment, then listened at the many

instruments, the vocals, and the fast rhythm of the song. Surprisingly,

it was rather catchy, as Russ' foot moved with the beat. Russ turned up

the volume of the stereo a bit more and smiled, as he continued to

watch Aeka's expression. About three minutes later, the song ended,

and Russ hit the stop button on the player.

"What was that? I couldn't understand any of the lyrics."

Aeka looked a little confused.

"That song was by Lunatic Calm, and the name of the song is

Leave You Far Behind, and it came from an American movie, called

The Matrix. It's a great techno song. That movie contained a lot of

action and martial arts. It was really cool. If I can find a copy of it

somewhere, I'll show it to you, but I don't think you'd be interested in

something like that."

Aeka shook her head. "Probably not. But anyway, what else

do you have on that CD?"

Russ laughed. "I've got hundreds of songs. Any particular

genre you'd like to hear?"

"Well, that first song you were playing. Could you play

another one from that album?"

"Yeah, I've got a few more titles from that on here. Let's see.

Ahhh, how about this one," he said, has he selected another song.

The song began playing, sounding like a waltz. A piano and

several other instruments began playing as well, as a young woman

began to sing.

[In Japanese]

"The way that you embrace me from behind,

The words of your land you softly whisper to me,

Romantic in a way that almost tears at my heart,

I am your prisoner.

Lo sono prigionera,

Tonight you have gently bound me up in your arms, my

love"

They both listened to the waltz as it continued, both of their

minds drifting in imagination. Aeka imagined an endless field on Jurai,

the wind blowing softly as thousands of flower petals drifted past, as

she stood with her arms outstretched, smiling, and twirling slowly,

caught up in the beauty of the planet. Russ replayed the introduction to

the animation in his mind, remembering the dragon that perched itself

on top of that large hill, with its wings spread wide.

Four minutes later, the song wound down and ended, as Aeka

opened her eyes and smiled. "That was really nice too. What was that

called?"

"That was Eternity, from Record of Lodoss War, an animation

I used to really enjoy. The other song you heard was from Chronicles,

a TV spin-off from that series."

Aeka nodded, and drank the rest of her lemonade and Russ

followed suit, finishing off his lemonade in a few gulps. He cringed a

bit from the tartness, but it was good very good. He wiped his

forehead with the back of his hand and sighed. Reaching over to the

stereo once more, he selected Days of Summer by Yanni, and hit the

play button, turning down the volume so it was just loud enough to hear

without actually having to pay attention to it.

"It's really nice here. So calm, peaceful, and quiet. Nothing

like the city I used to live in," Russ said, looking over at Aeka. "Could

you tell me about your planet? I've never been there before."

Aeka thought a few moments and closed her eyes. "It is a

very beautiful place," she began. "It has many of the same things you

can find here on Earth, just different varieties. We have some of the

most beautiful flowers you've ever seen, in many colors, such as reds,

blues, greens, and violets, and other colors as well." She sighed a

moment as she thought back to her planet, bringing up old memories of

the many things she had seen and done. "One of the things that I used

to love doing, is walking through our garden maze. Sasami loved it

too. It was very large, but it was very beautiful. The bushes were

always so neat and trimmed, and they were always lush and green. In

the middle of that maze, we had a large fountain, where I used to sit

and dangle my feet in the cool water. I used to spend hours walking

through that maze, shirking my duties as the First Princess, just so I

could be alone. The buildings were always artistically crafted, and all

of them were made from the wood of Jurai's trees. A lot of the

buildings were actually made inside trees as well. Inside the Royal

Palace, there was a huge area, inside a hollowed out part of the place,

where our Royal Spaceship Trees were grown. It was really nice, and I

used to like to spend time in there as well, conversing with the trees."

Russ sighed. "I've been to many planets, but Jurai sounds like

a wonderful place. Are there any holidays there?"

"Oh yes. As a matter of fact, the Startica festival of Jurai will

be starting in about two weeks. It always has lots of things to do, and

they shoot off fireworks, and there are many shops to buy or do things

at. It's similar to the fairs that exist here. It lasts for several days."

Russ sat, thoughtful for a moment. "Do you think it would be

possible for us to go to the Startica festival? I'd love to see it."

Aeka looked up and smiled sweetly. "It would take us a long

while to get there. I don't think Tenchi and his family could spare that

kind of time." She hung her head slightly as her expression changed to

sadness. "I do miss my planet and its people too. I'd love to go home

for a visit and see everybody again."

"How far away is Jurai from here?" Russ smacked his head.

"Never mind. I wouldn't expect you to know. Let's go to my ship.

That can tell us exactly how far away it is." Russ stood up and turned

toward Aeka, and offered his hand. She smiled and accepted his hand,

and he carefully helped her to her feet. "Would you like to walk, fly, or

teleport?" Aeka looked a little confused, and she didn't answer. Russ

noticed it and snickered to himself. "Well, if you don't mind, we'll fly

to my pod. It's a little ways from here, and we'd get there a little faster,

and get a real nice aerial view of the place. Plus, it'll be your first

flying lesson," Russ said, and smiled, thanking his memory for storing

that.

"Okay. This sounds exciting," she said, as she stepped closer

to Russ.

"You can do this quite easily, actually. You already have the

necessary power to fly, but you just need to learn how to control it to

do that. Close your eyes and think about your forcefield," he said, as

she shut her eyes, a small smile still evident on her lips. "Okay, good.

Now, think about how you form your forcefield, and how you

command it to appear and disappear at will."

She thought hard, nodded her head, and mumbled a yes.

"Think about how you call your power to bring up your

forcefield. You command your energy to form into a shield." She

nodded her head slightly, continuing to concentrate. "You can do the

same thing, but you can force your power to levitate you into the air, as

you can force your power into a shield. You just change the command,

or how you want to manipulate it. You can will yourself into the air, as

you can will your forcefield into existence. You can will it to do many,

many other things as well."

A light breeze began blowing, ruffling her gi and her hair, as

Russ watched her concentrate. Her determination was amazing. Russ

had only seen one other person who had the same determination and

concentration that she was displaying. Zorpheus. His power,

determination, and will to win had brought him out on top of many

battles that were fought, when they were allies, like the first time he

went Super Saiyan.

"You two Saiyans are dead. Your entire race is the scum of

the universe, and I'm here to remedy that, which Frieza failed to do.

Prepare yourselves," said Quadel, a Tenma-jin, standing some fifty feet

away, the orange dust and dirt blowing about, distorting his figure. He

was tall, just over seven feet, towering over both Zorpheus and Russ as

if they were children, however, both Russ and Zorpheus were pretty tall

themselves. Quadel's eyes were blue, but plain, and his blonde hair

flowed behind him in a long mane, nearly two feet in length. His royal

blue robes swirled around him, and his Saiyan-like armor was black,

instead of the typical white with yellow, and his boots and gloves were

black.

They were in the middle of nowhere, nothing but rocks and

dust for miles, the perfect place for a fitting end to someone's life. The

air was thick with dust, making it difficult to breathe and see, and the

oxygen was very thin, making it one of the most hostile environments

to do battle in. To make matters worse, the air had a tinge of methane

gas, making the whole place smell like rotten eggs. Rocks and giant

boulders littered the ground, and the sky was orange, clouded by the

enormous amount of dust. There were two suns in the sky, providing

plenty of light, even though the dust. The temperature was remarkably

pleasant, and even more so with the stiff wind that was blowing. Both

Russ and Zorpheus took in their surroundings, and then turned their

attention to their opponent.

"I see we have another one who labels people, just by their

race," Zorpheus sneered. "What are we about to get into a fight over

anyway? We didn't do anything."

"Shut up," Quadel growled, his complexion seething with

hatred. "All you Saiyans are the same. You come, acting all nice and

crap, and then you stab that person in the back. You're all sneaky,

lying, cheating, low down, disgusting bastards." He balled up both his

fists in rage. "All of you think you're innocent. All you ever want to

do is fight and hurt people for your own selfish ambitions. Even Frieza

knew that, which is why he hired your race into service. You were a

valuable asset to him, until you tried to kill him, forcing him to destroy

your home world."

Russ and Zorpheus looked at each other and shrugged.

"Okay, that's all true, but what did WE do?" Russ scratched his head.

"You are a Saiyan. That's your only fault."

"Oh, that's it? There's GOT to be more to it than that,"

Zorpheus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I told you to shut up."

"Why are we wasting our time with this idiot? I'd rather go

back to that planet we were just at and pick up those babes!" Zorpheus

almost started drooling as his mind went back to that topless bar.

Russ rolled his eyes and smacked him on the back of the head.

"Would you please pay attention? That guy standing over there wants

to KILL us, okay? Besides, those places are disgusting. The only girl

I'd want to see naked is the one I fall in love with."

"Oh, where's your sense of adventure! You're never going to

get anywhere if you don't LOOK!"

"Good grief. And you wonder why you get kicked in the

crotch so often."

"That's why I keep an industrial strength jock strap down

there now," Zorpheus said, snickering. Russ turned a few shades of

pink and recovered a moment later, then shook his head.

"SHUT UP YOU TWO," Quadel screamed, his face contorted

with rage and hatred. His ki exploded around him in a brilliant purple

flash as the ground gave way and cratered under him, kicking up tons

of dust and rocks and sandblasting both Zorpheus and Russ as they put

their hands up over their faces.

"Wow, this guy has some strength, but we should be able to

tear him apart, no problem." Stepping back a few feet, Zorpheus' ki

roared to life around him in a blue explosion, causing a hailstorm of

rocks to shoot away from him as the ground began to crumble and

shake. Russ screamed, more from irritation than pain, from being

sandblasted on two sides now. Zorpheus started laughing at Russ'

predicament, until his ki exploded around him in a green flash. Russ

glared at him a moment, then grinned.

"Time to go to work. You want to go first, Zorpheus?"

"Uh, okay. No problem. I won't even break a sweat."

"You're getting overconfident again, Butthead. Just pay

attention to what you're doing this time."

"Put a sock in it, Beavis. I'll be fine," he said, now walking

over to Quadel, who was about finished powering up. Russ realized

what was said a second later, and started laughing. *Beavis and

Butthead. Oh brother. That wasn't even on purpose!* He laughed

even harder, and after recovering, he started concentrating on the task

at hand.

Zorpheus and Quadel stood directly in front of each other,

each sizing the other up. Their blue and purple ki's were nearly

touching, as their gaze bore into each other's eyes, daring each other to

make the first move. Standing off to the side, his green gi glowing

around him, Russ watched, and waited.

"What's your name, anyway? I'd like to know who's ass I'm

about to mop the ground with," Zorpheus said, his lips turning into an

amused smirk.

"My name is Quadel, and your name doesn't matter. Get

ready to be trounced, and to pay for the sin of destroying my home."

Both Russ and Zorpheus stopped a moment, and then realized

this was all about revenge. "Okay, so now we know this is about

revenge. WE didn't destroy your planet, okay? We're not like that."

"You're all alike. Prepare to die," Quadel snarled.

Slowly, Zorpheus tossed his cape to the side, exposing the hilt

to a sword that was sheathed on a belt around his waist. Quadel began

laughing, as he removed his own cape and tossed it into the air, letting

the wind carry it away. Thinking Zorpheus was distracted, he speedily

balled up his fist and hurled it straight into Zorpheus' face, but he hit

nothing but air. Zorpheus tilted his head to the side just enough to

allow him to miss him completely. Taunting him, Zorpheus grinned

widely and snickered as he took a few steps back and unsheathed his

sword.

The sword was very unusual. The blade didn't shine like

steel, but rather, looked heavily oxidized and old. It was fairly thick,

but it wasn't extremely wide. Shining bronze, the hilt and handle were

fairly large, with a violet jewel placed in the center that glowed, almost

as if it had power of its own. Nearly four feet long, Zorpheus brought

the sword out in front of him, holding it like a samurai warrior. Russ

snickered in the background, always getting a kick out of his stance

with that sword.

"I still say your Schwartz isn't big enough! Get a six or seven

foot long sword and you'll be all set!"

"Shut up, Russ! I use what I'm good with," he yelled back,

never taking his eyes off of Quadel. "Besides, having a Schwartz that

big isn't agile enough!"

"Whatever," Russ sighed, taking in a deep breath, and then

coughing. "This place smells like someone farted! I bet it was that guy

over there," he shouted, pointing at Quadel, who was now quaking and

turning purple with rage.

Quadel fired a blue energy ball at Russ, catching him off

guard and sending him flying through a boulder, causing it to shatter

into a million pieces.

Seizing the opportunity, Zorpheus lunged at Quadel, slamming

his knee into his gut, causing him to double over and fall to the ground.

Zorpheus stared at him for a moment. "One shot and he's down? What

a pushover." Zorpheus stood over Quadel's hunched form, grinning,

until his arm shot up into Zorpheus' face, sending him high into the sky

and causing him to drop his sword. Quadel stood up as if nothing had

happened, all the redness gone from his face.

Zorpheus stopped in mid-air, still recovering from the surprise

attack. His surprise now replaced with anger, he shot back down to his

opponent, stopping about an inch above the ground, then setting down

gently, as his red eyes burned into Quadel.

"Lucky punch," Zorpheus growled, rubbing his jaw. "I won't

be as careless next time."

"Carelessness has nothing to do with it. You suck as a fighter.

You should've seen that coming."

"Excuse me?" Zorpheus questioned, as he began a flurry of

punches and kicks, all of which were dodged, effortlessly.

"You're too slow. The only pushover here is you. Allow me

to demonstrate," he said, as he caught one of Zorpheus' fists, and

planted his foot in his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Recovering

quickly, Zorpheus swept his foot at Quadel's feet, but he jumped over it

and slammed his fist into Zorpheus' head, knocking him back a few

paces.

Zorpheus was stunned for a moment, but he overcame it

quickly. "Okay, enough screwing with you. Allow me to show you

what I'm really made of," he said, as he tensed his whole body. The

ground began to rumble and break apart, as the rocks and boulders

lifted off the ground and shot into the air, and the dust swirled around

Zorpheus. Russ finally reappeared next to another nearby boulder,

rubbing his head.

"Kaioken Attack TIMES TEN," he screamed, has the

ground shattered under his feet in a massive shockwave, and his ki

faded from blue to red. Quadel's eyes nearly bulged out of his head,

but he maintained his composure, doing his best to keep his emotions

hidden behind his poker face. Once Zorpheus was ready, he put on one

of his most sadistic grins, and lunged at Quadel, smashing his foot into

his face, sending his opponent hurtling though a pair of massive

boulders and creating a very long and deep trench when he hit the

ground.

Disengaging the Kaioken, Zorpheus' power returned to

normal and his ki returned to blue. "Ahhh, that always gives me a

rush! Whooooo!!!"

"Yeah, but he's not dead yet. He probably has something that

can enhance his ki as well. Possibly a transformation or two like

Frieza."

Almost as if on cue, Quadel zanzokened in front of Zorpheus,

seething with intense anger as the veins in his arms and head began

protruding. "Very impressive. But I know something just like it," he

said, as he tensed up even more, and his purple ki began burning

around him like a raging inferno. Keeping his gaze locked with

Zorpheus', he began powering up to a higher level. The earthquake

worsened as the ground continued to break apart and shatter, and

Quadel's primal scream drowned out almost all other sound.

Russ watched with minor concern, knowing he could still

effortlessly defeat him if he transformed into a Super Saiyan.

However, Zorpheus was still unable to achieve that transformation,

since he lacked a motivating factor. Thinking that this may be a great

opportunity, he would try to fake getting his butt kicked, and hope that

it was enough to push him over the edge. If it didn't work, he could

easily dispatch Quadel with as much as a flick of the wrist. This guy

may be big, but that only made him a bigger target. Russ rubbed his

hands together and grinned.

"Hey Zorpheus," he shouted over the roar of the earthquake

and fiery ki that burned around Quadel.

Zorpheus turned. "What! I'm busy here," he shouted back.

"Let me take a crack at this guy. I'm bored!"

He turned completely around and stared at Russ. "What's

your problem?! I can handle this guy, no sweat!"

"Maybe, maybe not. He's still not at his maximum and he's

real close to yours! Just let me take care of it, okay?" Russ shouted

back.

Zorpheus furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine, knock yourself out for all I care." He moved over to his sword,

picked it up and swung it around, and then sheathed it.

"Oh, thank you so much! You're too kind," Russ said, his

voice filled with friendly sarcasm, as he walked toward Quadel, who

was still charging his ki. "Are you still powering up? Hurry it along

man! We're the younger generation! We're impatient! Let's get this

show on the road you slow-poke!"

"You're the impatient one, Russ," Zorpheus sneered from

behind, and Russ grinned at his comments.

Quadel ignored him, as he continued to push his power even

higher. As Russ stood there sensing his level, he realized that even a

Kaioken at level twenty wasn't going to work. He needed to go Super

Saiyan, but he also needed to make it believable that he was getting his

butt kicked. Just as he was about to transform himself, Quadel

finished, his ki radiating around him in an inferno, as his hair fluttered

under the force of his ki. Looking into Russ' eyes, Quadel grinned, and

began to laugh as he drew himself up to his full height. Zorpheus

looked unconcerned, but he knew at that moment he couldn't win

against a force like that.

"Impressive. It's now my turn to power up. Don't freak out

too much," Russ said, also grinning. He took a few steps back, and let

loose a loud howl, as his ki changed from green to gold, his hair from

black to gold, and his eyes from black to green. All of his muscles

doubled in size as he grew a few inches, and his ki went through the

roof as his mind was swept over with violent emotions and images. In

a matter of seconds, he stood, fully transformed, with his golden ki

pulsating around him in golden flames. Quadel looked only mildly

impressed.

"A Super Saiyan. How quaint. Let's see what you can do,"

said Quadel, as he took up a fighting stance. Russ followed suit and

prepared himself for combat, as they stood about ten feet apart from

each other.

In a flash, Quadel slammed his foot into Russ' chest, catching

him totally by surprise with his speed, and then allowed himself to slam

through a boulder before stopping himself. Russ was uninjured, but he

made it seem that he was. Breathing hard and moaning as if in pain,

Russ charged Quadel again, and began a flurry of punches and kicks,

all of which were countered with an identical blow. Russ shot off into

the air as Quadel followed closely behind, but then Quadel zanzokened

just above Russ and slammed both his fists into his back, causing him

to cry out in mock pain, as he careened down to the ground, where his

impact made a huge crater. Not giving any time to let him get back up,

Quadel charged an energy beam and fired it at Russ, where it impacted

and created a huge explosion, kicking up tons of dust and rocks and

obscuring everybody's vision.

Russ saw the beam coming with time to spare, so he lowered

his ki when the beam impacted, causing some major injuries. He

realized he needed to get some real injuries of Zorpheus was to believe

what was going on.

As the dust settled, Zorpheus got a good look at Russ, who

now was bleeding from several places, and he was kneeling on the

ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He became nervous, as he

knew if Russ couldn't beat him, he couldn't either.

"Hey Russ! What's wrong? You should be able to mop the

floor with this guy," he said, his voice full of concern.

*Great, it's working* "I'm having a hell of a time here! I

can't breathe very well and I'm out of air! I'm seriously messed up

here, man," he shouted over, as he stumbled to his feet. In an instant,

he was face down in the dirt again, as Quadel floated behind him with

his foot outstretched. A huge smirk creased the features of his face.

Russ groaned and tried to get back up, however at that instant

Quadel once again planted a foot in Russ' back and then stood on it,

causing him to squirm and cry out in pain. He looked over at Zorpheus

and grinned, and once again slammed his foot into Russ' spine.

Zorpheus quickly powered up and raced over to Russ' aid, but

Quadel saw it coming, and while standing on Russ' back, he spun

around and gave Zorpheus a roundhouse, sending him away and

slamming him through another pile of boulders. Undaunted, Zorpheus

dragged himself back to his feet, his nose and lips bleeding, as he once

again charged at his enemy and starting a punching frenzy. Quadel

easily dodged and parried all his blows, as he started laughing.

While continuing to dodge the blows Zorpheus was doing,

Quadel took his free hand and aimed it at Russ, and began firing yellow

ki blasts into his back, further crippling him and causing him to scream

out in pain and agony. Quadel, laughing the whole time, charged up

his ki very rapidly and caused a giant explosion, which further injured

Russ and blew Zorpheus away like he was a rag doll.

*What the hell is wrong with me! Russ always saves my ass

whenever I'm in a bind, but now he's down and out of it! He always

saves my rear. But now what? Should I just stand here and die? I

can't beat him like this.* Zorpheus landed several dozen feet away and

the only sound in his ears was Quadel's laugh and Russ' scream of

pain. *That's it. I'll beat him, or I'll die trying! NO MORE will Russ

have to save me. I'll save him and myself for once! I'm a Saiyan! I'm

a WARRIOR! Not some pansy that makes excuses as to why I can't

fight! I can DO this!*

He slowly dragged himself back to his feet, sheer

determination and prowess overriding his better judgment, as he

powered up the Kaioken attack to level twenty, the highest he could go.

His body screamed in protest and wrenched him down with intense

pain, but Zorpheus ignored it as he once again charged Quadel, who

was continuing to bombard Russ with ki blasts. Moving faster than he

ever moved before, Zorpheus slammed his fist into Quadel's jaw,

sending him sprawling and causing him to slam into another pile of

boulders a couple hundred feet away. Zorpheus stood over Russ'

broken and bloody body, as Russ had barely any ki left, and he was no

longer a Super Saiyan.

Russ slowly rolled onto his back and looked into Zorpheus'

eyes. "I can't go on," he coughed out, as his mouth spilled over with

blood. "Do you feel the power ready to snap inside of you? Use it.

Embrace it. Call it out and" he sputtered, as he fell

unconscious.

Zorpheus looked at Russ' broken and near lifeless body, as he

felt the power within him rise up like a blazing sun inside of him. His

rage was unequaled, and he felt his sanity snap, as a new power

exploded inside of him. Clenching his fists and growling as he allowed

the pain and anguish of Russ' defeat cloud his mind, the sky turned

dark and the horizon glowed, as the ground under his feet gave way to

an incredible force. Quadel blurred into sight about twenty feet away,

and Zorpheus locked his gaze on him, as his hair stood on end and

flashed gold for a moment. Yellow lightning streaked through the sky

and slammed into the ground just behind him, as he began to embrace

the full, raging power inside of him. The ground continued to rumble

and break apart, as his hair flashed gold once more.

Quadel began laughing. "Oh, look. Another Super Saiyan

who can't finish his transformation. What a pushover."

After a long minute, Zorpheus felt the power surge through

every cell in his body, and he released a primal howl, as his

transformation became complete, his hair and ki gold, and his eyes

green. Extremely violent emotions flooded his mind, as his ki pulsed

around him, and he finally embraced his awesome new power.

Russ, who had faked that he nearly died, grinned slightly, as

he relaxed in his crater. Zorpheus slowly walked over toward Quadel,

who was still grinning. About a foot away from his face, Zorpheus

stopped and looked into Quadel's eyes, hate and rage burning in them,

as he slammed his fist into Quadel's chest, causing him to throw up a

mouthful of blood, and making him to collapse to the ground.

"You're dead," Zorpheus said, his voice nothing but cold ice.

He reached down to Quadel, who was gagging and coughing, and

picked him up by the throat, and began to squeeze slowly, a mixture of

torture, pain, and a slow, agonizing death being his intention. Quadel

struggled and grabbed Zorpheus' arm, but it was like grabbing onto a

piece of hardened steel that was cold and unforgiving. Zorpheus

slowly continued to squeeze, as Quadel began choking, but that didn't

faze him in the least, as he squeezed even more. He felt the organs in

Quadel's neck begin to buckle and get crushed under his hand, but he

didn't stop. A moment later, Quadel's neck snapped, killing him

instantly, but that wasn't good enough. Zorpheus continued to squeeze,

as Quadel's neck became smaller and smaller, and finally what was left

of his neck turned into a red, organic matter when all of his organs and

bones in his neck were crushed into paste. His head fell off his

shoulders, his body crumpled to the ground, and what was left of his

neck oozed out of Zorpheus' fingers.

Russ picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off

a little, examining the many cuts and abrasions he had over his body,

and his green gi was torn to shreds. Walking over to Zorpheus, who

continued to stare into nothingness, he stopped himself, and hoped

Zorpheus wouldn't go totally insane and try to tear him apart too, but

his worry was unneeded, as Zorpheus let out a huge sigh, and allowed

himself to return to normal. He turned and facefaulted when he saw

Russ standing about five feet away, smiling and giving him the thumbs

up.

Zorpheus clenched his fists. "You're just FINE?"

"Yup," he nodded. I figured it was about time for you to get

that motivating factor to turn you into a Super Saiyan."

"I see," he said, looking at the ground in front of him. "I

thought you were really dead."

Russ chuckled. "I deserve an award for that performance," he

said, now laughing. "I'm glad it worked."

Now smiling, Zorpheus patted Russ on the back. "Thanks

man. You're the greatest. But you're still an asshole for making me

worry like that."

Russ exploded laughing and slapped Zorpheus on the back.

"You did it, not me. But anyway, congratulations! Now, the only

thing left is for you to control it. What you did to Quadel," he said,

looking at the mess, "was really nasty."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said, now getting a real good

look at what he did. "Well, what do you say we go back to that titty bar

and go pick up those girls?"

It was now Russ' turn to facefault, but he recovered quickly

and grinned. "Okay, but I'm not looking or touching. You can do

whatever you want."

"YES! Uh, I mean, okay, let's go," he said, smiling from ear

to ear. Russ just shook his head as they lifted off the ground and flew

to their spacepods, a green and blue vapor trail following them both.

Aeka continued concentrating, but unknown to her, she now

hovered about six inches off the ground. Russ continued to look on, a

wide grin on his lips, as he walked over and stopped just in front of her.

"Okay, now, continue concentrating, and don't open your eyes

just yet."

"Mmmm hmmm," she moaned out, just barely audible.

"Don't open your eyes, but you're actually about six inches

off the ground right now. Keep concentrating."

Her facial expression changed slightly, but she did as she was

told, and she continued to hover just above the ground. "Excellent.

Now, slowly open your eyes and look directly at me. Do not look

down, because you're most likely to break your concentration when

you do."

Slowly, she opened her amethyst eyes, and focused them on

Russ, as she was now about the same height as he was. Russ nodded

and smiled, and gave her the thumbs up.

"Awesome. You're doing great! Now, slowly let yourself

back down." Aeka descended slowly to the ground, where she landed

softly. She opened her eyes widely as she clasped her hands in front of

her. "I don't believe it," Russ said, letting his arms dangle at his sides.

"I figured it would take you a couple days, and here you learn it in less

than five"

"Oh Russ," she cried, throwing her arms around him and

hugging him. "Thank you so much! That's something I've always

wanted to learn but could never figure out! Thank you, thank you,

thank you," she said. A moment later she realized she was hugging

him, and she quickly released him as they both blushed a deep scarlet.

"You're very welcome," he said, scratching the back of his

head. "I'm glad you learned it so quickly. But now, you need to learn

to control it a little more, and learn how to move while in the air.

Levitating is nice, but not going anywhere when you do is not." Russ

walked over to the cliff and lifted himself into the air, then hovered

over the edge. "Come on out here. I'll catch you if something goes

wrong."

Aeka hesitated, but she closed her eyes and concentrated, and

lifted herself off the ground, almost effortlessly. Reopening her eyes,

she pushed herself forward, slowly, as she stopped in front of Russ,

also hovering over the edge of the bluff.

"Excellent. Now, just stay here a moment," Russ said, as he

floated back over to the tree and picked up both glasses of lemonade,

his stereo, and his stack of CDs. He shoved most of the CD's into his

pockets. "Now, follow me. We'll go to my spacepod, but first, we'll

make a pass by the house. Is that okay?"

She nodded, and Russ began to slowly move away, and Aeka

followed. Incredibly, she kept up with him, almost as if she wasn't

trying. He increased his speed a little more and leveled himself off for

straight flight, and Aeka did the same. Russ continued to watch her

carefully, as her clothes ruffled in the breeze and her hair flapped

lightly, as she smiled and giggled at her achievement. A few moments

later, they were at the house and Russ lowered himself to the ground in

front of the sliding glass door, and could now see everybody still sitting

in the living room. Aeka landed lightly beside him and continued to

smile, as everybody inside stared at both of them in disbelief.

Sasami ran out the door and grabbed her sister in a big hug,

giggling the whole time and watching her with awe. "Aeka!!! You

FLEW! How did you do it?"

She smiled. "Russ told me how. It's actually pretty easy. It's

a wonderful feeling and sensation to be able to fly like that. It's no

wonder Ryoko does it so often."

Sasami looked at Russ, who contented himself with a shy grin.

"Can you teach me to fly?"

"That's up to your sister, if she'll let you do what is necessary

to learn how to fly. I may be able to teach you the technique, but I

don't sense enough ki from you to be able to achieve that feat." Russ

looked up at Aeka, and smiled. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. She's still very young, and I don't want her

getting hurt."

"I understand that. But there won't be any sparring or

anything like that involved in her training. Just some exercise to raise

her ki level. The stronger she is, the more ki she'll gain and control."

Sasami looked disappointed. "Please? Come on, Aeka! Let

him train me to fly!"

"I'm afraid not, Sasami."

"Fine, then it's instant ramen for you tonight," she said,

looking at the ground.

"Sasami! That's not fair. I'm only looking out for your well

being."

"That's nice and all, but I want to learn how to fly, and the

reasons you gave me don't seem very good. I want to learn! If I don't

like it, I'll stop."

Aeka looked into her little sisters pink eyes and sighed in

defeat. "Okay, have it your way."

"YAY!" She ran over and gave Russ a hug around his waist.

"Did you hear that? You can train me to fly!"

"I heard," he said, scratching the back of his head and

withering under Aeka's glare. He then mustered a smile. "Well, why

don't we go inside now? I'm frying out here."

Sasami spied the large stereo Russ was carrying. "What's that

for?"

"It's just my stereo that I listen to. I won't play it loudly in the

house or anything. I'm going to haul this up to my room and I'll be

back in a few moments."

"Wait, what kind of music do you have there?"

"I have a lot of stuff. These CD's have hundreds of songs on

them. Got to love advances in technology," he said, grinning.

"Do you think I could listen to some of them later?"

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that. You'll need this

stereo to read the discs though. They're in something called MP3

format, but the players only recently started coming out, and they can't

be read in normal stereo systems."

Aeka continued to look back and forth between Sasami and

Russ, keeping quiet the whole time, until Russ began walking toward

the door, in which she followed behind him, and Sasami trailed her.

Russ lifted off the floor and floated up to the upstairs hallway, nodding

an acknowledgement to the chorus of hello's that came from everybody

who was seated. Aeka came inside and sat down on the couch, where

Nobuyuki was sitting, which had a vacant seat next to it for Russ when

he came back down.

"So, the princess can fly now, can she?" Ryoko said, grinning

from her seat, which was now almost on top of Tenchi. He grinned, but

he was also blushing lightly.

"Yes. Russ showed me how. It's a neat sensation."

"Yes it is. That's why I fly practically everywhere I go."

Russ floated down from the landing and disappeared into the

kitchen, where he filled both glasses with water and set them down in

the sink, and then floated back into the living room where he touched

down on the floor behind the couch, letting his hands rest on the back,

behind Aeka.

"Oh, before I forget. That was great lemonade, Sasami. Very

delicious," Russ said, patting the little princess on her head as she

smiled and giggled.

"You're welcome."

Washu stood up from her seat and walked over to her lab door.

"Russ, I finished your gravity enhancer. Come on over here and try it

out."

"Wow, already? That was sure fast."

"It was nothing for the greatest scientific genius in the

universe," she said, re-inflating her ego.

"Excuse me, everyone. I'll be back in a little bit." He stopped

when he saw the look of horror on Aeka. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no nothing at all. You go on ahead," she said, her face

betraying her voice.

Russ continued to watch her, and then stepped closer. "I think

you're fibbing. What's bothering you? Come out and say it. It's best

to be open and honest with your feelings."

Aeka stared at him in shock and shook her head. "I said it's

nothing. Just go on."

"We'll talk about it later then," he said, making his way over

to the lab door where Washu was waiting, an evil gleam in her eye.

Everybody else stared at Aeka, who was now shifting uncomfortably

from her seat in the couch.

Russ followed Washu into the closet and shut the door behind

him, and a moment later, they both emerged in her lab.

"That's pretty cool how you created your lab in a different

dimension. I know a few people who do the same thing."

Washu turned, stunned. "How did you know this was a

different dimension?"

"I'm not an ignorant barbarian, as you may think from what I

was doing earlier. I'm actually fairly intelligent. One of my favorite

subjects was science. I never could stand chemistry though," he said,

laughing. "But Zorpheus was the one who was more interested in

science than I was. I was more into music."

"That's very interesting," she said, walking over the platform

as another door appeared out of subspace. "Follow me. Your gravity

enhancer is in here," she said, opening up the second door.

"Okay."

Passing through the second door, they wound up in another

area surrounded in computer units and other various contraptions. Russ

immediately remembered this room as the one he ended up in after the

first time he entered Washu's lab and was restrained. She walked over

to a console and lifted up a small device that had a band attached to

both ends. She held it up and brought it over.

"This is it. You simply attach it to your arm or wherever, and

tell it how much gravity you want. You say something like, 'I want

fifty times Earth's normal gravity,' and it'll activate itself, thus giving

you the added gravity."

Russ took the device in his hand, and wrapped it around his

arm. "Thank you, Little Washu. This'll be a big help. Let's see if it

works," he said, and took a step back. "I want fifty times Earth's

normal gravity."

The little machine beeped while Russ gradually began to feel

heavier, as the gravity around him increased. Within ten seconds, he

was at his requested level. Stretching out a bit and becoming

accustomed to the gravity, he looked back at Washu and smiled.

"This is great. How high can it go?"

"Up to two thousand times normal Earth gravity."

"Excellent. I really appreciate this. Is there anything I can do

to repay you?"

She turned thoughtful for a moment. "Would you allow me to

examine you? I'd love to get some data on your physiology."

Russ' brow beaded with sweat for a moment, and he then

sighed. "Okay. What do you want me to do?"

She snickered lightly as that evil gleam in her eye returned.

"Just take your clothes off except for your underwear. I'm going to use

that mechanical globe again to perform most of the scans."

Groaning, Russ removed both his shirts, exposing his

extremely muscular form, and he then removed his boots and his pants,

folding his clothes neatly in a pile on the floor. He returned the gravity

machine to normal and removed it, and then he stood up straight and

looked at Washu, who's eyes were super wide and her face was as red

as the crab that hung over her lab door.

"Uh, Little Washu?"

She snapped out of her trance and continued to blush lightly.

"Oh, sorry about that," she said as she hit a button on one of her

consoles. A moment later the globe appeared behind Russ and lifted

him off the floor with its arms, and a headpiece filled with wires and

blinking lights plunked itself over Russ' head. Washu's phantom

computer materialized in front of her as she typed in some commands,

watching the screens flash dozens of graphs and statistics.

"So, what do I do now?"

"Just relax a few minutes. This won't take too long," she said,

as she moved to another computer that was hooked up to the globe.

"Let's see organic pattern, astro pattern, psycho-layer pattern,

overdimension, parallel pattern, hentai pattern " The graph was flat.

"Ahem hentai pattern" The graph still was flat. "Rats. I get the

same readings with you as I do with Tenchi."

Russ turned blue for a moment as she cackled evilly from her

position behind the computer. The screen cast an eerie glow onto her

features, making her appear even more devilish. She walked over to

Russ and smiled.

"Would you mind if I took a sperm sample?"

If Russ were in a position to facefault, he would have. "YES,

I'D MIND," he growled. "The most I'm going to let you get away with

is a blood sample."

Washu's disappointment became apparent as she once again

produced a syringe and an alcohol pad from her pocket. She rubbed

down Russ' arm as he tensed himself, waiting for that painful prick

from the needle. He closed his eyes and waited and waited and

waited

"All done."

Russ' eyes shot open as Washu held up a vile of blood.

Breathing again, he allowed himself to relax as he heaved a huge sigh

of relief, and the lights on the headpiece began blinking again.

"You're right, that didn't hurt at all. All the other needles I've

ever gotten stung like crazy."

Washu chuckled. "I've got magic fingers," she said, as she

gave Russ a hug. "Thank you for the scans. That will provide me with

some very valuable data."

"You're welcome. If you're interested in another piece of

technology that I'd like to have constructed, I may now I only MAY,

I won't say that I will give you that sperm sample."

Washu fell to the floor from total shock. "Wow, really?! I get

to put together a new invention and get a sperm sample as

PAYMENT?! How can I say no?" She was so overjoyed with

happiness that she nearly tripped over her computer. She recovered

quickly as her eyes sparkled. "You're the best, Russ. It's too bad Aeka

as already claimed you to be hers or you'd be mine in a heartbeat."

Russ blushed. "Thank you, Little Washu. I've never been

sought after by anybody before. It's a different feeling than I've ever

had before. As I told Aeka earlier, I've been alone for most of my life,

except for the times I spent with Zorpheus, fighting evil wherever it

reared its ugly head. But truthfully, I've really never been truly lonely.

I've always had my training to keep my mind occupied."

Washu sighed. "The same goes for me, except I had science

instead of training. I've been alone for over twenty thousand years,"

she said, quietly, as Russ nearly said something he shouldn't have,

about her age, from surprise. "I had a husband and a child once, but

they were taken away from me. I've never seen them since that

dreadful day," she said, trying to hide her sorrow.

"Do you remember their names?"

She shook her head. "I've only got fuzzy memories of them

now. I wish I could remember them more clearly."

Russ squirmed against the restraints. Washu noticed, and

released him, as he landed lightly on his feet. "Nobody knows about

this yet, but I can read minds and memories from others. I can pick out

specific events, or entire memories. Faces, loved ones, memories you

thought you never had or had forgotten about. However, if you have

twenty thousand years of memories That's a lot of data for me to

sort through, and a lot of faces. But, if you think about your child and

husband, and remember them as best as you can, I think I can find

exactly what you're looking for. All you have to do is ask, and I'll try

my best, to make your wish come true," he said, as he began to get

dressed.

Washu looked at him, a tear rolling from her green eyes as she

sniffled softly. "No," she said, shaking her head. "What's past is

past."

Russ noticed her downcast face and placed a comforting hand

on her shoulder. "If you ever change your mind, don't ever hesitate to

ask me. I'll be there for you, as a friend, or as your lab rat too," he

said, chuckling and smiling. Washu looked up and also smiled,

sniffling away her sorrows. "If you ask, I'll even try to help you find

them once again, so you can see your child, and see how he or she has

been growing up."

"Thank you, Russ. That's the nicest offer I've had in a long,

long time," she said, smiling, and drying her eyes on her sleeve. She

turned and gave him another hug, and Russ returned it warmly. "That

feels so good. Thank you."

"Anytime."

"Well, anyway, what is this other invention you want me to

put together?"

"It's a regeneration capsule, or a healing pod. It's kind of like

a large contraption, where you put someone inside of it, and it fills up

with synthetic DNA of whatever subject you're putting into it, and it

can heal physical wounds very quickly."

"Really? It's a medical chamber?"

"Yeah, of sorts. It's a precaution for me, and for anybody else

here who needs healing quickly, or for taking care of major

emergencies," Russ explained. "When I battle with Zorpheus we're

both going to be really messed up when we're done. Honestly, it's

probably going to be me. He's a slightly better fighter than I am, and

I'm just a bit stronger and faster than he is. We both basically cancel

each other out, but I'm pessimistic, so that's why I say that."

"If you say so. Just bring me the plans and I'll put it together

for you, okay?"

"Sure. I need to head over to my spacepod anyway to figure

out how far away Jurai is from here."

"What for?"

"I need to figure out how long it would take to get from here

to there, in Earth Standard time."

Washu shook her head. "I can tell you that right here," she

said, once again bringing up her phantom computer. She quickly hit a

few keys and a map from Jurai to Earth appeared on the screen.

"WOW, Jurai is really far off. How long would it take for a

ship to get from here to there? Uh one of your ships, I mean. Maybe

Kiyone and Mihoshi's shuttle, or a space taxi or something?"

"It would probably take a week to ten days to get from here to

there. Ryo-Ohki would take about a week."

Russ scratched his head. "Well, I suppose I could call one of

my good buddies to come and give us a lift. His ship could make it

from here to there in half a day."

"Huh? That's impossible. No ship is that fast."

Russ chuckled. "My buddy's is. It's big too. I'll go give him

a call and see if he can spare a couple days to give us a ride to and from

Jurai."

"What else has been invented that I don't know about," she

pouted. "I guess seven hundred years imprisonment as made

technology advance on me quite a bit."

"Well anyway, I guess I better let you get back to your

experiments. I'm sure Aeka is about to explode from anxiety from

waiting."

"You aren't kidding. Thanks for your help. All your help,"

she said, smiling.

"Like I said, anytime."

Russ turned and started to leave the lab, then turned around.

"Would you like to go to the Startica festival with us, if we do go?

Everybody deserves a vacation sometime," he said, his eyes pleading.

"Yes, I'd love to. I haven't been to Jurai in a long time."

"Great. If all goes well, we'll be leaving in a week and five

days. I hope that's plenty of time to plan for your vacation."

"Plenty. Thanks for the offer."

Russ turned and left the lab, as Washu returned to the part of

her lab where she was on top of her platform, surrounded by many trees

and other plant life, where she began to analyze the scans she took of

him, smiling the whole while. She hasn't felt this good and giddy in a

long time.

Aeka was wringing her hands and was about to lose all her

patience when the lab door reopened and Russ stepped out. He smiled

at Aeka, who jumped up from her seat and briskly walked over.

"Are you okay? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong

with you," she said, examining him.

"No, no, I'm just fine. Would you like to go to my spacepod

now? I need to give one of my friends a call and see if he can give us a

lift to Jurai. His spaceship is incredibly fast, and can get us to Jurai in

about a half a day, or around twelve hours."

"Really? That's it?"

"That's all," Russ said, grinning. "Do you think everybody

could go in that case?"

"I don't see why not."

"Hey, what are you two talking about? Go where?" Ryoko

asked from the couch. Tenchi had just about passed out from all the

torment and flirting Ryoko was doing to him.

"Would everybody like to go to the Startica festival on Jurai?

That begins in about two weeks."

Sasami jumped up from her seat on the couch. "Really!? I'd

love to go! We can visit Azaka and Kamadake again, and I can see all

my old friends and stuff!"

Russ' expression shifted to confusion. "I thought Azaka and

Kamadake were those two logs you guys have?"

"They are, but there are human ones too. They're currently on

Jurai, serving the emperor."

"Oh." Russ turned and made his way over to the door. "Well,

I got to go contact my friend to see if he can spare a few days to give us

a lift. His ship is huge, so there will be plenty of room for everybody.

Should I go talk to him or forget about the whole idea?"

Everybody looked at each other and nodded.

"Sure."

"Why not?"

"Okay, I'm game."

"We could use a vacation."

"Okay then, it's settled. You want to come along Aeka and

fly around a little more?"

She nodded and followed him outside. Sasami also ran out the

door and latched onto Russ' waist.

"Can I go too?"

"Sure," he said as he knelt down. "Grab on. We're not going

far."

Russ and Aeka both lifted off the ground, with Sasami

hanging on Russ' neck, giggling away. Ryo-Ohki ran out the door and

started meowing at the top of her voice, as she leapt into the air and

transformed herself into a spaceship.

"Holy sh uh, holy smokes," he corrected himself. "That's

pretty cool. She'd actually be able to fit into my buddy's ship's

docking bay. This is great," he said, as he leveled out his flight and

soared over the treetops, making his way to his spacepod, with Aeka

following closely behind, smiling and just enjoying the feeling of

freedom. "We can have her take us up to my friend's ship when he

arrives."

Sasami giggled as she hung on tightly, looking down at the

trees and back at Aeka, who also smiled and chuckled lightly. Ryo-

Ohki flew just behind them, her massive bulk shading them from the

sun. It was a short flight, as Russ had landed his spacepod nearby. He

descended to a small clearing, which had a small, white ball near the

middle of it. Ryo-Ohki transformed back into a cabbit and landed on

the ground at the same time Russ and Aeka did. Sasami let go of Russ

and landed on the ground before he had a chance to kneel and let her

off.

Sasami saw the gleaming white metal of the pod and ran over.

"Wow! So this is your spaceship?"

"Yup. That's what I travel around in."

"That thing is pretty small," Aeka said, walking up beside

Sasami and Russ. Opening up a control panel, he keyed in a few

commands, and with a loud hiss, the door swung open, revealing a

mass of controls and a pilot's seat.

"Well, in reality, I don't need anything bigger. I always travel

alone. Zorpheus and I had our own spaceships so we took those

separately. We didn't have anything bigger at the time so we had to

use these things," he explained, while sitting himself down inside the

pod. He keyed a few commands.

"Hailing," his computer responded in its nasal, feminine voice.

"Please wait." Russ lightly drummed the seat's armrest as he hoped

he'd catch the captain while he was awake and on the bridge. "Picking

up an acknowledgement channel open."

"Hello, Dominoes Pizza. Can I take your order?" came a gruff

voice from the comm. system.

"Yeah! I'll have a large thick crust with double cheese, ham,

pepperoni, onions, and bacon," Russ said, trying to keep from cracking

up. Sasami and Aeka looked at each other in complete confusion.

"Okay, your total comes to ugh this calculator sucks,"

said the voice, as he began laughing like crazy. "RUSS! How have

you been doing, buddy! Long time no see!"

"TOM! Whazzzaaaap?" Russ roared over the comm. system,

laughing the whole time.

"Ugh, don't you ever get tired of doing that?" he said, still

chuckling. "What's up? How are things?"

"Well, they're pretty good, all things considered. How are

things on your end?"

"Boring as hell. Save me, man. Give me something to do,

dude," Tom said, almost begging.

Russ facefaulted and smiled. "Hey, do you think you can

make a trip to planet Earth and give me and some friends a ride to and

from Jurai? The Startica festival will be starting over there and we'd

like to go, but we don't want to spend a week traveling to get there. I

thought of you because of your ultra cool ship and I also wanted to

show it off to everybody," he said, snickering.

"Give me a break. It's my ship and you show it off. Bleah.

Well, when does the Startica festival start, exactly?"

"About two weeks from today. I'd like you to get here a

couple days early so we can get there with plenty of time to spare, and

do a little sight seeing."

"Hmmm, yeah. I can do that. I'll be there at noon, three days

before Startica begins. That way we can spend a day traveling there,

two days sight-seeing and do some catching up, and then the festival

will begin. Sound good?"

"Make it two days before. The people I'm with don't have a

huge amount of time to spare."

"Well, okay. Suit yourself. Do you need me to send down a

shuttle or a transport?"

"No, we've actually got one here. She's really cute."

Silence came over the comm. system. "Did you say, 'She's

really cute?'"

Russ laughed. "Yeah. Don't worry, because you'll see her

when you pick us up. When you do arrive, keep your ship cloaked.

The Earthlings here still aren't a spacefaring race."

"Okay, no problem. I'll just decloak and jam their radars or

whatever until you get onboard, and then we'll go. Is that okay?"

"Perfect. And by the way"

"Yes?"

"Don't flirt with any of the girls that I'm bringing with me,

okay? They'll rip you a new one if you do," Russ said, a hint of

sarcasm in his voice, but sounding completely serious.

"Aw, come on man! Don't you think you're asking too

much?"

"I'm serious. I won't be the one to save your rear when one of

them shoves a ki sword up your butt."

"Uh, okay. Hey, I'll see you then! Good to hear from you,

and it'll be great to see you again!"

"Okay! Talk at you in a week and five days! Catch you

later!"

"See ya," Tom said, and then static crackled through the

comm.

"Alrighty! That went well. We got ourselves a ride to Jurai,"

Russ said, a huge smile on his face. Aeka and Sasami continued to

stare at him as if he sprouted a third arm. "Uh, is something wrong?"

"What was that language you were speaking?"

"Japanese, of course," he said, scratching his chin. "Oh, I get

it. We're old buddies and we have our own unique way of

communicating with each other. It's all well and fun."

"I see," said Aeka, as she blushed slightly.

"Well, shall we be heading back?"

"Yeah. Sasami, have you started lunch yet?"

Sasami looked at her sister in horror. "Oh no! I forgot all

about it! I guess I could fix up some cold cuts or something," she said,

looking distressed.

"Ahem. I can help you if you want, Sasami."

"Oh, could you? That would be a great help!"

"Sure. Let's go, before everybody wonders if we ran away or

something."

Ryo-Ohki bounded on top of Sasami's head and meowed an

objection.

"I'm sorry, I didn't actually mean that. Oh, never mind. Let's

go. Climb on, Sasami," Russ said, as he knelt down and allowed the

little princess to grab onto his neck. He hefted her onto his back, and

before lifting off, he sealed his pod again, taking care to make sure it

was locked up tight, and then he lifted off into the air, with Aeka right

beside him.

"You're really getting the hang of this, Aeka!" Sasami said

through her giggles. She just smiled and continued to fly along with

Russ. Ryo-Ohki had jumped off of Sasami's head and landed on Russ'

mass of hair, as she meowed her contentment.

"That's a bad place, Ryo-Ohki. Remember, I'm allergic to

you and I don't want to start sneezing too badly."

She meowed a couple times in disappointment, and then sat

down on Russ' back, snuggling against Sasami's head, causing her to

giggle even more from being tickled by Ryo-Ohki's whiskers.

A short minute passed, and they landed at the Misaki home,

just as Nobuyuki pulled up in the van. Russ knelt down and let Sasami

off, and stood back up, watching Nobuyuki shut off the van and hop

out.

"Where'd he go?"

"I have no idea. He said he was going shopping for

something," Aeka responded.

"I wonder if he bought anything?" Russ said, as he made his

way over to the van.

"Ahhh, perfect timing. I could use a pair of strong hands

here," Nobuyuki said, as he opened up the rear of the van. Russ,

Sasami, and Aeka all gasped at the sight of the new addition to the

household.

"Oh wow, that's awesome," Russ said. "I can't wait to play

it."


	8. Chapter 8

Ep 8 True Friends

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real

attempt at a fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi

TV) and the OVA so most of the main characters you've seen from

there will appear here as well. It also crosses a bit with Dragonball

Z with the existence of Dragonballs and immensely powerful

warriors. Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to be together, and

Aeka is still living at the house for now. You'll see when it

happens. Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right

to the story. Enjoy! Send all hate mail / fan mail to

.

*Note: the song titles that I use here are typical MP3 filenames that

you can find on Napster or FTP servers. If you want to hear what

Russ is playing on his stereo or on the organ, you can look these

things up and download them, so you can play them back and

listen to it for yourselves. Russ only will compose music out of

Tenchi Muyo (all series), so the characters will now be aware of

the music. Kind of neat, eh? ?

*Note2: New website going up for the Tenchi fans! Visit it at

.net The fanfic will be posted there too.

"Where on earth are we going to put something like that?"

Aeka asked, as she checked out the new addition to the household.

She touched the gleaming white keys and the many buttons all

over the console, admiring the craftsmanship of the organ.

"Well, I figured we'd put it in the living room, kiddy-

cornered by the glass door, by the stairs. There's an outlet over

there, and it's really a good spot for it," he answered. "I just need

someone to help me carry it in."

"I'll be glad to help," Russ said, reaching into the van,

lifting an end of the organ as if it were a piece of foil, and pulling it

part way out. "Anyway, who's the musician here?"

"Well, it's something I've always wanted to get into, and

I thought of possibly getting Tenchi involved in playing music as

well. I got a great deal on this thing, which is why I bought it.

I've been saving up for one for a long time."

"How much did you pay for it?" Aeka said, still staring at

the instrument.

Nobuyuki laughed nervously. "I paid five hundred eighty

five thousand yen for this thing," he said, eliciting a facefault from

everybody within earshot, except for Russ. "I got it seventy five

percent off the normal price because it's an older model, and it was

returned for some reason. Aside from the scuff marks, its in

perfect shape!"

Aeka furrowed her eyebrows together and started hard at

Nobuyuki. "You paid that much money for THIS?" she said,

her arms trembling. "We always thought you were broke! How

dare you keep this kind of secret from us!"

Glancing over at her, Russ got a little angry. "Hey, it's

his money, and he can do as he pleases with it. He said he was

saving for this for a long time, and he finally got a great deal on

one," he said, causing Aeka to soften up slightly. "It's none of our

business what he does with his money. He earned it, and he can

spend it as he pleases." Russ turned completely toward Aeka, still

holding the end of the organ. "He does pay for all the expenses

here, so we've got no room to talk, okay?"

Aeka and Sasami looked taken aback, and then she hung

her head. "I'm sorry, Nobuyuki. I didn't mean anything. I'm just

surprised you spent that much money on this."

Nobuyuki looked back and forth between Russ' glare and

Aeka's shame. Slowly walking to Aeka, he put his arm around her

shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I can see why you're concerned,

but I've had this money set aside for a long time, and we don't

have any financial difficulties, and I don't see any in the future."

He squeezed her shoulder and looked into her downcast face.

"Please don't fret over it. And besides, it cost way less than I had

anticipated, so I still have a lot of money left over."

Noticing her melancholy appearance, Russ started feeling

bad as well. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but it

drives me crazy when other people tell others what to do with their

money or how to spend it." Russ lifted the entire organ off the

van's floor and held it awkwardly from the backside, trying to

balance it somewhere in the middle of his hand while supporting

the top part of it with his other hand. Several cracking noises came

from the wood, but it held together just fine. "Well, let's get this

thing inside. Oh, Sasami?"

"Yes?" She looked up from admiring all the buttons and

the keys on the console.

"Could you get the bench and help us carry that in?"

"Sure thing, and then I'll start on lunch," she said,

smiling.

"Great. Thank you. Nobuyuki?"

"I've got the foot pedals. Just carry that inside and set it

down where I told you," he said, releasing Aeka, who was now in a

slightly better mood, as she watched Russ play a balancing act with

the oversized organ. She giggled softly, as he nearly lost his

balance with the thing, and then moved over to him and helped

steady it.

"Thanks, but I've got it," Russ said quietly, as he

continued to walk toward the living room.

"Don't worry about it. I don't mind at all," she said, as

Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and Nobuyuki followed, carrying the foot

pedals and the bench.

The living room was deserted, except for Ryoko, who was

attempting to fall asleep in her usual place on the beam, despite the

scorching heat up near the ceiling. Tenchi had left to go work at

the field and gather more carrots, and Washu remained in her lab.

Kiyone and Mihoshi had gone into the onsen to soak and talk about

moving out, and once again live on their own.

Aeka slid open the door, and Russ carefully maneuvered

himself through it, trying to fit him and the organ through, and

trying to keep from banging the thing into the door. Ryoko sat up

and looked down, puzzled at what was coming inside. She silently

slid off the beam and onto the floor, and watched Russ and Aeka

carry the organ over to the designated corner, and set it down.

Nobuyuki and Sasami came inside, and set down their items. Russ

lifted up the foot pedals and connected them to the organ, then

placed the bench in its place in front. Sasami smiled and bowed,

and hurried off into the kitchen. Russ reached behind the organ,

grabbing the cord, and plugged it in.

The organ itself was very large. Having nearly eighty

pushbuttons, two keyboards, the foot pedals, and even piano foot

pedals, it was one of the most awesome organs Russ had ever seen.

Everybody looked it over up and down, admiring the gleaming

white keys and the glossy black keys, the LCD screen in the

middle of the console, and the cherry oak rack that held the sheet

music. Off to the left side, there was another console, labeled

'MIDI Computer,' and that had a floppy drive mounted right inside

the cabinet. There were dozens of sections for the pushbuttons.

Rhythms, instruments, drum sets, and many other features that told

Russ that Nobuyuki should've spent well over two million yen for

this thing. He wiped off his brow and did his best to contain his

excitement, since music was one of the things that brought him

joy, aside from fighting. Having played the organ in the past, and

was really good at it, this was a perfect opportunity to show off

another trait that was unusual for a Saiyan to have. Drawing on his

knowledge of personal computers and his knowledge for music, he

knew that this organ was the next best thing to a one man band,

complete with drums, guitars, and many, many other instruments

to choose from. This was a good opportunity for him to compose a

few pieces that were swimming around in his mind.

Russ turned toward Nobuyuki. "Think you can play

something for us? Give this thing a test drive?"

Nobuyuki smiled and scratched the back of his head, but

he sat down, cracking his knuckles, and then turned the organ on.

Dozens of little red lights flashed to life on the console, and the

LCD screen displayed which instrument was selected for each

keyboard, including the foot pedals. It was currently selected for

Piano for both keyboards, and nothing for the foot pedals, except

for the ones that were designated piano playing. "Is there anything

in particular you'd like to hear?"

"I don't know, just play something you're comfortable

with," Russ said, as he took a seat on the couch. Ryoko, Aeka, and

Ryo-Ohki all joined him.

Nobuyuki began to play 'Michael, Row the Boat Ashore,'

and doing a really poor job of it. Everybody within earshot heard

the noise, and all started to perspire, but Nobuyuki was even more

stressed out, as they could see his shirt becoming damp. A few

minutes later, he finished, and everybody applauded politely, even

though the music he played was a disaster.

"I'm a little out of practice," Nobuyuki said, laughing

nervously. "Can any of you play?"

Russ stood up and made his way over to the organ, as

Nobuyuki slid off the bench. "I'm okay at it. What would you like

to hear? Any requests?"

"No, nothing in particular. Play whatever you feel like."

"You sure? Aeka? Anything you'd like to hear?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Play anything you

want."

Russ thought a moment, and began to press the keys

rapidly, playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Everybody in

earshot stopped and froze in surprise, and then made their way

over beside Russ, as they watched his hands fly over the top

keyboard, transfixed at the music he was creating.

Sasami came out of the kitchen and stared with her mouth

agape, which quickly became a smile as she moved over next to

Russ, watching him play.

Aeka's eyes widened as her hand went over her mouth

when she gasped, and she slowly stood up from her seat and stood

next to Sasami in awe, as she watched Russ' hands skillfully and

swiftly fly over the keys, producing an amazingly beautiful song.

Even Ryoko watched, amazed that a clunky instrument

could produce such amazing sound. She watched as Russ moved

with the music, his upper body swinging from side to side, and his

gaze was a mask of concentration, as his hands struck the keys,

gently but swiftly.

A few minutes later, he finished, taking a deep sigh, as a

big round of applause erupted behind him, causing him to jump

slightly and blush. He stood up and bowed, a huge smile creasing

his face and giving him small dimples.

Nobuyuki came up to him and slapped him on the back.

"Well, at least someone can take advantage of this thing. I'm glad

it was money well spent."

"I thought you said you were decent, Russ. I think you're

better than you're leading on," Aeka had said, smiling up at him.

"Nice thing about this organ is it can play all the

instruments to a song. I can create songs on here that have a full

orchestra behind it, if I wanted to. However, it requires me to

replay the song a lot of times, once for each instrument. I can do

more than one at once, but it's difficult. The fewer instruments,

the easier it is, but the more plain it sounds. I'll be happy to

demonstrate," he said, as he looked over the organ. "Say, you

didn't happen to get any floppy disks, did you? You can actually

save the music you play onto one and play it back later."

Nobuyuki reached into his pocket and produced a box of

ten disks, and handed them over to Russ.

"Ahhh, excellent." Russ looked around the room. "You

wouldn't happen to have a pair of headphones too, would you? It

sounds really weird when I start a song, but once I finish it, I'll

play it back for you." Russ took a seat on the bench again.

"Sure," Nobuyuki said, walking over to the TV stand and

producing a pair of earmuff style headphones from one of the

enclosures. "Are these good enough?"

"Oh yeah. Those are perfect," he said, accepting the

headphones and plugging them in. He touched a few of the keys,

confirming that the sound only played from the headphones.

"Well, I'll do a quick song, and then I'll play it back once I'm

finished. Sound good?"

"Okay, just let us know when you're done!"

"It'll be a few hours, so if you have something important

to do, go ahead and do it."

Sasami returned to the kitchen with Ryo-Ohki perched on

top of her head, as Ryoko and Aeka returned to their seats on the

couch, flipping on the TV and turning it to a soap opera. Russ

cringed when he saw what they put on, and quickly turned away

and put on the headphones to drown out the sappy rubbish they

were watching. Nobuyuki made his way up the stairs to his room,

where he was planning on watching a little TV, deciding to relax

for his one, solitary day off.

Turning his attention back to the organ, Russ cleared out

all the memory banks on the midi computer, deciding if there was

anything there it wasn't worth listening to. Selecting his first

instrument and rhythm, he hit the record button on the computer,

and began to play.

Aeka and Ryoko both turned toward Russ, hearing the

soft clunking of the keys, as he pressed them in time with the

rhythm he had selected. Grabbing the remote, Ryoko turned up the

volume to the TV a little more, while they both watched one of

their favorite programs.

Over two hours after Russ began playing, he finished the

song, and took in a deep breath, wiping the sweat off his brow.

Sasami had brought him a cold glass of ice water, and sat it down

on a small table that she placed next to him, nearly an hour ago.

She also invited him for lunch, but Russ never noticed her,

devoting his full concentration to the creation of the music. He

removed the headphones, which more or less peeled themselves off

of his ears.

It must've been a hundred degrees inside the house, and

Russ felt even more uncomfortable from concentrating so hard,

however, he felt that it was worth it. Looking around the room, he

totally forgot that Sasami had prepared lunch. He noticed that

Sasami was no longer in the kitchen, but was outside playing with

Ryo-Ohki. Aeka was lying on the couch, silently watching Russ,

as he turned his gaze toward her and smiled.

"I'm done," he said. "Would you like to hear it?"

Aeka slowly sat up and nodded.

"Okay. Here we go. Keep your fingers crossed. I played

every instrument except for the piano. I'll do that now and record

it, as it's playing," he said, as he hit the play and record buttons on

the computer. He adjusted the volume to a medium level, waited a

few moments, and then the song began.

The sound of thunder rumbled through the sound system,

and Russ used some weird effect on it, in a steady rhythm. Sounds

of raindrops also were discernable. A moment later, a light bass

instrument came though the speakers, vibrating the floor slightly,

along with another electronic instrument. Russ then began playing

the piano portion and making it echo, in perfect time with the

rhythm he had set up on his own. As the song progressed, more

and more instruments joined in the piece.

Aeka sat and listened, in total amazement at what he had

done. A slow smile spread across her lips, as she sat back on the

couch, listening to the music increase in tempo and then go into

full force. Nobuyuki came down the stairs, Sasami came inside,

Ryoko and Tenchi both came out of the kitchen, Kiyone and

Mihoshi followed Nobuyuki, and Washu happened to come out of

her lab. All of them walked into the living room at once and

stopped, almost as if drawn in by the sound of music, as Russ

continued to play the piano portion of the song.

About seven minutes later, he faded the song out and

stopped the midi computer from recording, letting out a deep

breath, as a roar of applause erupted behind him. He whirled

around and saw everybody standing there, clapping his or her

hands. Everybody smiled, and continued applauding, as Russ

blushed a deep scarlet, in complete embarrassment.

Russ finally slid off the bench and stood up, waving his

hands around. "Oh, stop it. I'm not that good. He then bowed. "I

take it you guys enjoyed that?"

"I'm glad I got that organ now. I'm so happy that

someone here can use it to its full potential," Nobuyuki said, as he

slapped Russ on the back.

"Thanks," he replied, shyly. "The name of that song was

called Children, and it was originally composed and done by

Robert Miles. That was the Dreamland version. He was one of

my favorite New Age Jazz musicians," he explained, and thought a

moment. "As a matter of fact, I think he was the reason I bought

my first music CD."

"Wow, I never knew you had musical talent like that,"

Aeka said, from the couch. "You keep showing us some really

extraordinary stuff. I would not have ever known you could play

an instrument like that."

"Yeah. Although it did take me," Russ looked at the

clock, "over two hours to input that song into the organ, I am

pleased with the final result. The music came out almost flawless.

This organ is a very useful tool for creating and playing music."

Russ reached behind him and ejected the floppy disk. "I saved that

song onto this disk, so you can play it back whenever you like," he

said, as he applied a label to the disk and set it down.

"Wow, that was great," Sasami said, standing next to

Aeka, with Ryo-Ohki, still on top of her head. "Can you play

anything you want on that organ?"

"More or less," he said, smiling. "You know of anything

that you'd like to hear?"

"No, not really. I wish I did, though."

"Hmmm, I know. I'll do a little something tonight, just

for you," he said, causing Sasami's face to light up like the sun.

"Really?"

Nodding, Russ made his way over to her and patted her

on the shoulder. "Of course. I thought of a song and rhythm as

soon as I saw you. I'll let you know what I'll call it, tomorrow,

after it's done." He looked around the room, and decided he would

do a theme for just about everybody, just for the fun of it.

Washu walked up to him and handed him a little device.

It was the gravity enhancer he forgot to take with him after he

undressed during his examination. "You forgot this," she said.

"Whoops, seems I did. Thanks," he said, accepting it and

wrapping it around his left arm.

"Did you get those plans you were telling me about?"

Russ slapped his head. "Aw geez, I forgot that too," he

growled, and after that, laughed. "Be right back," he said, placing

two fingers to his forehead and vanishing. About ten seconds later

he reappeared in the same spot, holding a data pad. "This is it," he

said, surrendering the pad over to Washu, who studied it for a few

moments.

"This is a pretty complex piece of technology. This ought

to be a lot of fun to build. I wonder if I could make it have more

uses than just a regeneration tank."

"Just as long as it can still heal someone, you can do

whatever you please with it."

"Hmmm," she said, disappearing back into her lab.

Turning back to everybody, he smiled. "Well, I'm glad

you enjoyed that, but now I have to get to training. I've been

slacking off for the last day. I'll be right outside, so if you need

me for something, I'll be right over there," he said, pointing to the

lake's shoreline, near a bunch of trees.

"We'll come get you when it's dinner time," Tenchi said.

Russ nodded, and afterward went outside.

Tenchi turned back toward his father. "Why did you get

this organ?"

"It's something I always wanted to get involved in, and I

hoped you'd take an interest in it, too," Nobuyuki responded.

"I don't know. I really don't have the time to do anything

like this, having to take care of the field and the many other

responsibilities I have around the house."

"It's not something that needs to be done right away. If

you feel like it, give it a try and learn something new."

"I'll think about it," Tenchi said, turning toward the door.

Ryoko grabbed him in a hug from behind.

"Where are you going?" she asked, pitifully.

"I have to go clean the shrine, and possibly practice with

Grandpa. You know how it is."

Ryoko's expression saddened a little, as she followed him

outside. Aeka just watched the couple, the pain from seeing them

together still not fully healed or gone away.

It's been nearly six months since the incident with

Haruna. Tenchi thought he had chosen Ryoko, however, he never

knew that it was actually Aeka who had given up the chase, to save

him. "I want you to go to him. Don't you see? You're the only

one who can reach him!" Aeka had said to Ryoko, as the dream

world was collapsing. Those words continued to echo in her mind,

even though it has long since been over with. It still pained her,

remembering that traumatic episode, and being without Tenchi for

the six months that Haruna kept him captive. The price to save

him had been too high, and she knew it, but it was necessary, all

the same.

What if it was different? What if the incident with

Haruna had never occurred? What then? Aeka thought about it a

little more, and drew up an old conclusion. He would've never

chosen, and Ryoko and herself would continue to fight over him,

as they had from the first day they met him. Was that better than

what was happening now?

Aeka stood up and walked over to the organ, sitting down

on the bench, and looking at the keys that Russ had tapped and

played for over two hours today, still lost in thought.

No, what happened with Haruna was for the best. It

showed which one of them was willing to go the entire way for

Tenchi. And she knew who could reach Tenchi first.

She turned her attention outside, and watched Russ near

the edge of the lake, doing pushups.

And what about him? Could he show her love? Or would

this be another mistake, as it had been with Tenchi? Was Tenchi a

mistake? No no. Tenchi could not even be considered a

mistake. Tenchi had been the best thing that had ever happened to

her. He was the first person to treat her as a woman, and not a

princess, and he didn't care how many ships she had, how many

planets were under her empire, or how much money she had, or

even a throne. None of that mattered to him, and he saw through

all of that, to see the sweet, innocent girl that landed in front of his

house, so long ago. It seemed so long ago, anyway. But now, here

was another man, her age, which had the same aspirations as

Tenchi. He too, didn't care about a throne, or her power, or

anything like that, and he liked her as a person, and that is

something she had longed for. He too, was treating her as a

normal person, and not a princess. He didn't bow down to kiss her

feet, as most other men would have if they knew of her title.

However, truthfully, he DID know of her title and where she was

from. It was mentioned last night. But that didn't matter to him

either.

Russ also seemed to be kind of sad, in a lonely kind of

way. She felt it as he told her the many stories from the night

before, and he always alluded to the fact that he had done most of

them alone. He kept his feelings behind a mask of happiness, and

she had a hunch that he was lonely, and needed someone. But

why didn't he ever have a companion? Was it because of his race?

She wouldn't know, because this was the very first time she has

ever seen, or even heard of a Saiyan. Watching the fight earlier

today was totally astounding, but frightening too. Maybe that was

why he was shunned and rejected wherever he went. But she

could draw conclusions the whole day, and may never come up

with the real reason he was alone. She was alone, too. Hopefully

one day he, or even she, would decide to change all that.

Standing up from the bench and stretching, she decided to

go make herself busy, and water the flower garden. Stepping

outside, she picked up the hose and turned on the water, and began

spraying the flowers on the side of the house, in plain sight of the

lake, and Russ. He still had his face pointed toward the grass,

continuing to do his pushups, but from what she could see, he was

having a really hard time with them, and he appeared to be out of

breath. Releasing the trigger for the sprayer on the hose and

silencing the water, she could faintly hear Russ grunting under

some tremendous strain, as he rose and fell with each thrust.

Aeka watched him silently, forgetting that she was

supposed to be watering the flowers. Snapping out of her

daydream, she shook her head and resumed spraying the plants,

giving them a much-needed drink of water, especially on such a

scorcher of a day. However, her mind continued to wander,

considering the possibilities of a life with another man. It was still

much, much too early to tell if he held any kind of romantic

attraction to her. However, the chance of falling in love with

another man was not very high, especially after having her love

turned down more than once. She didn't know if her heart could

handle another rejection, and that was frightening to even consider.

The puddle under her feet started flooding around her

combat boots, beading on the leather but keeping her feet dry.

Finally noticing the growing puddle, she sighed, then moved onto

another part of the flower patch, and decided that, only time would

tell, if her heart could stand one more chance at true love.

"Is there something you want to talk about, Ryoko?"

Tenchi asked, while walking up the stairway to the shrine, with the

space pirate floating beside him.

She looked back at him, a calm and peaceful aura about

her. "No, not really. I just like looking at you. You're still as

handsome as the day I met you," she said, eliciting a blush from

Tenchi.

"You're very beautiful too, Ryoko," he said, glancing

over at her and smiling. "But anyway, is there something you want

to talk about? You usually don't just follow me out here without a

reason."

"So I need a reason to be with the man I've fallen in love

with?" she said, playfully, as she floated over behind him,

wrapping her arms around his body and squeezing him tightly,

placing her chin over his shoulder.

Tenchi chuckled. "Of course not. I just thought you

wanted to talk or something. Unless you want to help me clean the

shrine," he said, grinning. But to his surprise, she nodded.

"Sure, I'll help you," she said, continuing to hang on him.

"It'll give me something to do, and give me another reason to be

close to you."

Smiling and blushing, Tenchi took her arm and caressed

it, then pulled her along side him and gave her a tight hug. "That's

very sweet of you," he said, as she returned his affection. He gave

her a light kiss on the cheek. As he was pulling back, Ryoko

grabbed him in a crushing embrace; giving him one of the most

awesome, soul-probing kisses she ever mustered. She moaned

softly, sounding almost like a kittens purr. They held that embrace

for nearly a minute, and then she backed off, allowing Tenchi to

come up for air. He stared back at her, dumbfounded, as she

giggled alongside him. "Wow," was all he managed to say, which

made her giggle harder.

"Are you sure you have to clean the shrine NOW? Can't

you do it a little later and instead spend some time with me? Let's

go do something fun."

"Sorry, Ryoko. But I have to clean the shrine or Grandpa

will be quite angry with me. I've missed practice once already last

week, and I already know I'm going to get it for that." Tenchi

watched as her happy expression melted away, becoming sad,

while she watched the steps in front of her, not meeting Tenchi's

gaze. "It won't take too long. Then we can go do whatever you

want. Is that okay? If you help me, I can get it done twice as fast,

which means even more free time."

Her expression changed to an amused smirk. "Always

trying to con me into doing chores around the house, aren't you,"

she snickered, poking him in the ribs. Gazing wistfully at the blue

sky, she sighed. "Remember what I told you a long time ago?"

"You've told me a lot of things, Ryoko. You'll have to be

a little more specific."

"You don't remember, do you? I was floating alongside

you, except you were on your way to school."

Tenchi thought a few moments, as the memory came back

to him. "You had said, 'Oh Tenchi, isn't it so nice? It's like a

carnival every day. Oh, I wish these days could go on just like this

forever and ever,'" he said, also lost in thought. "Yeah, I

remember it like it was yesterday. Why do you ask?"

"Because I want this to last forever," she said, gazing into

his eyes. "I don't ever want this to end."

Tenchi gazed back into her golden, feral eyes. "What is it

you're not telling me, Ryoko?"

Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his chest once

again. "Do you ever think about Aeka?"

He looked at her with mild surprise. "Only as a good

friend. She's one of the best friends I've ever had. You are too,

and a whole lot more," he said, returning her hug.

"She's depressed, Tenchi. She tries to hide it, but I can

tell. She's still upset, considering that she'll never know your

affections like I do. I feel bad, and a little guilty, for her. Doesn't

that sound strange, especially coming from me, her worst enemy?"

Tenchi shook his head. "Not at all. We've all lived

together for over a year, and you two have become friends. Even

though it was a rocky start, considering both your pasts, you both

have emerged triumphantly, and left that past behind," he said,

starting back up the shrine steps. "But yes, I have sort of noticed

that Aeka has been sad a lot more. I wish I could do something to

help, but I don't know what I can do."

"Me neither. Would you actually believe that I was

considering SHARING you with her? She's hurting," she said,

sadness in her voice. "I know I would've gone insane if she

hadn't uh if you hadn't chosen me over her. You're this

pirate's most valuable treasure. You're the universe to me, and I

can't imagine life without you," she said, tears welling up in her

eyes.

The tears started trickling down her face, as Tenchi tried

to brush them away with his thumb, taking her face in his hands.

He then smiled. "This is why I love you so much. You care for

others, much more than you yourself realize. Deep down, under

that pirate's exterior, lays one of the kindest hearts I've ever seen,"

he said, pulling her close, and allowing her head to rest against his

chest. He slowly ran his fingers through her wild mane of cyan,

kitten-soft hair and lightly patted her back, stopping his ascent up

the stairs again, as she quietly sobbed into his chest.

"Seeing Aeka so unhappy is making me unhappy too. I

can't imagine what I'd do if I couldn't have you," she said, quietly,

as the tears continued to trickle down her cheeks onto Tenchi's

kimono. "And I know Aeka must feel what I would've felt, and I

don't wish that on anybody. Not even her."

Ever since Tenchi had met Aeka, there had always been a

tinge of sadness about her. From the very first day he met her,

when she arrived to rescue Mihoshi, her unhappiness had surfaced

a couple of times. Even when Grandpa had suggested that he take

Aeka around the shrine and the surrounding area, she seemed

distracted, and almost unwilling, but Grandpa insisted that she take

advantage of her unexpected day off, and that she forget about her

duties as the First Crown Princess, just for one day.

He remembered taking her to the small pond to see the

massive tree, and to see the surrounding mountains, which were

filled with the colors of fall. And then, when they were leaving the

tree, she slipped and fell, ever so delicately into Tenchi's arms.

She slowly stood back up, and they looked into each other's eyes,

with just a hint of attraction between them. Of course, being as

shy as they both were, they turned away, blushing fiercely, and

making up silly excuses.

"I have never felt like this, in my life," she said to herself.

Afterward, he offered to take her up to a much higher spot, near

the top of the hill where the shrine was located, which overlooked

the valley and gave quite a view. That was when she started to cry,

but she said it was nothing, and that it was the most perfect day off

she had ever had. And the more he thought about it, the more he

realized, that on that day, she was actually falling in love with him.

And now, that possibility of love was taken away, from the only

man that she had ever fallen in love with, all on her own.

Tenchi sighed and continued to hold Ryoko, as she finally

stopped whimpering into his kimono. He gently released her and

allowed her to float beside him. "Do you feel a little better now,

Ryoko?"

"A little. Damn my conscience. We have to do

something to make her happy again, or it's going to drive me

crazy," she said, now smiling, as she sniffled.

"Well, what would you suggest?"

"How about a present or something? From both of us?"

"I suppose that could work. But material possessions

aren't important to Aeka," he said, lost in thought. "What if we

talk to Russ, and have him come along with us when we go get that

present? I'm sure she'd feel a bit better if it came from him, rather

than the both of us."

"Oooh, you mean, play matchmaker?" Ryoko grinned. "I

have noticed Aeka has been spending a little bit of time with him,

but really, I think it's too early to get those two involved in a

relationship. I mean he only arrived yesterday, and she's not one

to move things along quickly, and Russ doesn't strike me as one

who would either."

"I suppose. But anyway, we can still get her a gift. But

what would she like?"

Ryoko and Tenchi both looked at each other, and then

shrugged their shoulders.

"You've got me. She's never expressed an interest in

anything here on this planet. She keeps to herself quite a bit,

except for when she was pursuing you, my Tenchi," she said.

"Why don't we go into the mall a little later and shop around?

There's got to be something that she'd like."

"I think she'd like the thoughtfulness behind the gift,

rather than the gift itself," Tenchi responded. "But it's got to be

something she'd like."

"I know! We could ask Sasami! We can have her come

with us too, when we go," Ryoko said, excitedly. "She knows her

sister better than anybody."

"Great idea, Ryoko! We'll ask her as soon as I finish

cleaning the shrine and practicing with Grandpa, then we'll all go

to the mall, together. We'll take Aeka with us as well. Maybe she

just needs to get out of the house a little bit more, too." Tenchi

smiled at her, and took her hand. "Let's get busy and then we can

go."

Ryoko sighed to herself and smiled. This was the reason

she fell in love with Tenchi. He was always kind hearted, and had

always strived to never hurt anybody, willfully or accidentally.

Ever since that first day she crash-landed near the Masaki's home

and was found by Tenchi, she almost immediately began to fall in

love. Here was a farmer's boy, who didn't care where she was

from, or why she crashed. She was passed out from a hangover

when he found her, then gave her some water, and asked if she was

all right. Nobody had ever said those words, and was happy to see

that she was uninjured. She remembered gazing up into his

smiling face as she came to, and felt surprisingly happy. Even

though she had lied to him and told him that she was actually the

damsel in distress, and that Mihoshi was the space pirate, he still

accepted her into his home and took care of her, along with

everybody else whom crash-landed at his place, and even

threatened his life.

He even risked his own life to save her, when a notorious

criminal, Kagato, had captured her and took her aboard his ship,

the Soja. It didn't matter that she was a space pirate, or those past

deeds. He nearly died for her, and only survived due to Tsunami,

who found him and reconstructed his body, after Kagato nearly

destroyed Ryo-Ohki.

Pushing those unpleasant memories behind her, she

continued to float alongside the man she fell in love with, as they

made their way to the shrine. "I'll be happy to help you clean the

shrine, Tenchi. In fact, if I clean the whole shrine, and you

practice with your Grandfather, it shouldn't take long at all, and

then we can go whenever both of us finish. How does that sound?"

Smiling, Tenchi shook his head. "You don't have to do

that if you don't want to."

"But I want to, Tenchi. Because it's you, and you asked

me to help you, right?"

"I guess so," he said, grinning sheepishly. "Thanks a lot.

We'll be able to leave a lot sooner in that case. Secondly, the mall

is air conditioned, which is awesome, and we're both going to be

dying in this heat." They reached the top of the steps, where

Katsuhito was standing on the porch of the shrine office, just out of

the sunlight.

"Hey Grandpa, I'm here for practice," Tenchi called out

to him. Katsuhito nodded then produced two bokken from behind

his back. Ryoko floated over to the far end of the porch where a

broom was propped up against the wall, and she began sweeping

the walkway.

Katsuhito took notice and allowed his surprise to crease

his expression. "Since when does Ryoko do any work around

here? You wouldn't happen to know anything about this now,

would you, Tenchi?"

He laughed and grinned. "Whatever do you mean,

Grandpa?"

Katsuhito just shook his head and led Tenchi to the

training area, for a short practice. "I'll never understand your

relationship with her, Tenchi."

"I had asked her to help clean the shrine while I practice.

We both plan on going to the mall later on today."

"Oh? How come?" Katsuhito handed him one of the

bokken.

"Well, Ryoko and I both noticed that Aeka seems to be

depressed lately. We were all going to go to the mall, and Ryoko

and I are going to get her a present, which will hopefully cheer her

up a little."

"So you've finally noticed it?"

"What do you mean, finally? I knew it was going to be

hard on her once a choice was made, but she has done quite a feat,

hiding her depression from me," Tenchi said, looking at the

wooden sword in his hand. "I'm just not sure what I should get

her. And I don't want her to know it's because I saw her

depressed, either."

"Hmmm You've got yourself quite a predicament

there."

"Yeah, I know. It's hard on me, too, knowing that she

still has feelings for me. It's probably torture for her to see me

with Ryoko all the time."

They arrived at the training area, and moved to their

respective positions. Bowing to each other, they swung their

wooden swords around, warming up a bit before they began

sparring.

"I've noticed Aeka seems to be taking a liking to Russ,"

Katsuhito said, who was now ready to begin the match.

"Me too. However, I think she's afraid of being rejected

again. And I have no idea how Russ feels about her."

"It's too soon to tell if he would have any feelings for her.

Right now, it's only a friendship. It's up to either one of them to

progress it any further than that. Don't pressure either of them to

do that, or they may get angry with you."

Tenchi took up a defensive stance, also ready to begin. "I

understand. I remember how it felt when Ryoko wanted to move

things along so quickly. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.

Plus, with Aeka there, whenever Ryoko tried to pursue me, it

usually wound up with apocalyptic results."

"Yeah, the house was nearly leveled a couple of times

from those two, wasn't it?" he said, smiling. He swung the bokken

and prepared to attack. "Are you ready, Tenchi?"

"Yes," he said, matching Katsuhito's move.

They both stood apart, each staring into the other's eyes,

waiting for one of them to lose patience or break his concentration.

In his typical tactic, Katsuhito glanced at something over

Tenchi's shoulder. "Oh, hi Aeka, what are you doing here?"

"Aeka?" Tenchi said, starting to turn around, and then

instantly realized his mistake again and parried the blow from

his grandfather, resulting in a loud crack of wood against wood.

"You still fall for that same old trick, don't you, Tenchi?

Even Russ didn't fall for it, and instead almost nailed me, since I

wasn't expecting it," he said, leaping back and swinging the

bokken in a wide arc, directly for Tenchi's leg.

He leapt over it and swung his own bokken down in a

wide arc, trying to nail his grandfather in the shoulder, which was

sidestepped. Katsuhito thrust his own bokken right for Tenchi's

chest, which he swiftly parried, as their two swords locked against

each other, and they began a quick test of strength. Tenchi

trembled under his grandfathers amazing power. They quickly

broke their stance and leapt back a few feet, taking up defensive

postures.

"Well, I see you're learning," Katsuhito smirked, once

again charging Tenchi, swinging his bokken in a random cycle,

making jabs and swinging at various parts of Tenchi's body.

"Have you decided on what you're going to get Aeka for a gift?"

Swiftly dodging and parrying all the blows, Tenchi saw

an opening and started his own offense, swinging his own bokken

in a standard pattern, which was easily avoided. "No, I haven't a

clue as to what to get her. I was hoping Sasami would help us

out," he said, now beginning to pant and breathe a little harder, and

his eyes stung from the salty water from his perspiration.

"She would know what Aeka would like. But, what

would you like to get her? It would mean more if you were the

one to decide on what to get," he said, restarting his own offense,

his bokken connecting with Tenchi's as they locked in another test

of strength.

"I suppose you're right, but at least she could give us an

idea," he said, grunting under the pressure. "But I've never been

good at picking out gifts. What could I possibly get a girl who

hasn't wanted anything except to be with me?" Tenchi leapt back

a few feet and held his bokken ready.

Katsuhito stopped his offense, and lowered his bokken

down to his side. Seizing an opportunity, Tenchi sprung at his

grandfather, thrusting his sword toward his head, but Katsuhito

casually nodded to the side, then brought his own bokken up in

between Tenchi's legs, stopping less than an inch away from his

crotch. Tenchi turned blue for a moment, slowly backing off.

"I have no idea what gift to suggest for you to get her.

That's something that you have to decide for yourself. Just make

sure she'll be happy with it, and won't dredge up old feelings," he

said, tapping his sword in his hand and sitting down on his usual

boulder, which thankfully was shaded from the scorching sun.

"Oh, and Tenchi?"

"Yes?" He hopped on the small wood stakes in the

ground to practice balance.

"Be careful about when an enemy appears to lower his

defenses. He may be trying to trick you. It isn't over until it's

over," he said, snickering.

"I'll keep that in mind, Grandpa," he said, leaping from

stake to stake, repeatedly hitting a chunk of wood into the air with

his sword. "I wonder what Russ is going to get her, if he decides

to go with us."

"You plan on inviting him along, too?"

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Laughing to himself, Katsuhito thought a moment. "I

don't know. Just something odd about him, is all." He looked at

Tenchi with a grin. "You going to try to get Aeka in a relationship

with him?"

"No, not really," he said quickly. "Mainly just to invite

him along. It'd be a good chance to get to know him a little

better."

"Ahhh, I see. How are you going to get there?"

"I was hoping dad was going to drive us or something,"

he said, smacking the hunk of wood back into the air, skillfully

keeping his balance on the stakes. "I haven't really thought too

much about it."

"Well, I'll leave that up to you to sort out," he said,

looking into the sky, which was littered with small, white clouds.

"Looks like we may get some rain tomorrow."

"I hope so. This heat is crazy." Tenchi swatted the block

into the air again, and quickly wiped his brow off with the back of

his hand.

"Yes, it is hot, but a samurai must show no weakness.

You may be required to fight whether you're comfortable or not,

sick or well, hot or cold, and even in places where you never

thought of fighting before." Katsuhito wiped his own brow with

the sleeve of his own kimono. "Well, practice for another ten

minutes, then you can go home. I don't want you getting sick out

here."

"Thanks, Grandpa. The mall will be nice and cool, since

it's air conditioned," he said, catching the wood block in his left

hand and hopping off the stakes. "It'll be wonderful to cool off for

a while."

Walking up the path to the shrine, Katsuhito grinned, as

Tenchi continued his routine exercises.

Making his way out of the training area, Tenchi spotted

Ryoko, who was just finishing sweeping the walkways. Her hair

wasn't its usual, spiky appearance, but more matted to her head

from the scorching heat. She stopped and stretched toward the

sky, then turned around, noticing Tenchi walking toward her. She

put the broom down and floated over to him.

"Hi, Tenchi. I'm done," she moaned, giving him a hug.

"I'm burning up out here."

"You and me both. Let's go get ourselves cleaned up and

then we'll go to the mall. Is that okay?"

"Yes, of course! I must look my best for my Tenchi," she

giggled.

He walked over to the broom and put it in its place on the

porch. "Grandpa, we're going now. We'll be back later," he

called through the office door. Turning around and taking Ryoko

by the hand, he led her back to the house.

Having just finished watering the flowers, Aeka was in

the process of winding up the hose on the reel. She finished,

turned around, and saw Tenchi coming toward her, trailed by

Ryoko. They were both smiling, but weren't looking at each other

for once, but instead were looking directly at her. She straightened

herself and smoothed out her gi, and met them at the edge of the

garden.

"Hi Aeka. Ryoko and I are going to go to the mall.

Would you like to come? We're going to invite everybody, if they

want to go."

Hiding her surprise, she nodded. "Sure, I'd like to go.

It'll give me a chance to shop around, and see if there is anything

new I'd like."

"Great! Glad to hear it," Ryoko said, with a big grin. She

landed on the ground and stood next to Tenchi, but didn't touch.

"We're going to go take a quick bath and clean ourselves up a

little. Care to join us for that too?"

"I guess so. It is really hot out here," she said, not

sounding very convincing.

"Okay, we'll meet you in the onsen."

"I'll just go take a quick shower in the house. You girls

go on ahead," Tenchi mentioned. "We'll all meet in the house. I'll

see if dad can give us all a lift or something."

"Alright. Let's see if Russ wants to go too." Ryoko

began making her way over to him, who was now rapidly kicking

in the air. His foot was nothing but a blur and his face was

contorted with strain. "He sure does know how to exercise.

Wow."

Aeka nodded, following, with Tenchi just behind her.

"He did a lot of pushups and sit-ups. He just started doing that

about fifteen minutes ago," she said, watching him. Almost at that

same moment, Russ changed over to his other foot and began

kicking in the air, his foot nothing but a blur. His back was now to

them, and didn't see them approach.

"Hey Russ!" Tenchi said, loudly enough so he could hear

over the noise of the wind, which sounded very similar to a fan.

Russ stopped, and turned toward them, breathing heavily

and sweating profusely. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Geez, are you okay? You're really sweating a lot,"

Ryoko said, looking concerned.

"Yeah," he said, between deep breaths. "I just have the

gravity enhancer up to five hundred times Earth's normal gravity."

Tenchi, Aeka, and Ryoko all facefaulted, then recovered.

"Did you say, five hundred times normal gravity?" Tenchi looked

exasperated.

Nodding, Russ pointed toward the little machine on his

arm. "Washu made this for me. It's great for intense training. I

normally weigh about two hundred, twenty two pounds, or exactly

a hundred kilograms. With this machine set at five hundred g's, I

weigh a hundred, eleven thousand pounds, or fifty thousand

kilograms."

Everybody facefaulted again, then recovered. "That's

impossible! Anybody should be crushed under that much gravity!"

Tenchi shouted.

Russ grinned and shook his head, and jumped into the air

about two feet, then landed on the ground. His impacts made his

feet sink into the ground about six inches, which resulted in a

chorus of gasps from the three. "Trust me, I weigh as much as I

said." He grinned, as he stepped out of the holes. "I want normal

earth gravity."

The machine beeped, as the tremendous weight that was

bearing down on Russ was lifted in a few seconds. He stretched,

becoming used to the gravity again. "Ahhh, that was a great

workout. I'll have to continue it later," he said, as the threesome

continued to stare at him. "Err, is something wrong? I've been

saying that a lot lately, haven't I?"

Snapping out of their bewilderment, they shook their

heads. "No, everything is just fine. We just came over here to ask

if you wanted to go to the mall with us. We're all going, and we

wanted to know if you wanted to come along."

Russ curled his upper lip as his face showed disgust.

"Shopping? In a mall? Oh boy"

"Come on, Russ. It won't be too bad. All of us are going,

and it'll be nice and cool inside the place, since it's air-

conditioned. Are you sure you don't want to go?" Aeka pleaded.

Sighing in defeat, he nodded his head. "Okay, I'll go just

this once. Normally, I hate shopping, unless I'm going to an

electronics store," he said, grinning. "I love technology. At least,

earth based technology. Washu's lab is too crazy for me." He

started laughing.

"Great," Aeka said, now smiling widely. "We're all

going to get ourselves cleaned up, so we'll meet you inside the

house in about five or ten minutes. Is that okay?"

"Whatever," he said, not sounding enthusiastic at all, but

managing a small grin.

Aeka turned toward Ryoko. "You know, it would be nice

if we had a bath inside the house, instead of having to come all the

way out here to this onsen."

"You know, you're right. I hate walking through the rain

and other inclement weather. Washu could set us up, couldn't

she?"

Aeka nodded. "Of course. For the greatest scientific

genius in the universe, it should be no trouble at all," she

snickered.

Russ and Tenchi both looked back and forth between the

two girls while they conversed, as they made their way toward the

house to get a fresh change of clothes.

Heading inside the house, Tenchi spotted Sasami playing

off near the shrine steps with Ryo-Ohki. "I'll go ask Sasami if she

wants to come along with us," he said.

"Okay, see you in about ten minutes in that case," Ryoko

said, not turning around. She floated up to Tenchi's room and

disappeared through the door, and Aeka went to her own room.

Russ started to go inside, but Tenchi tugged on his gi and motioned

Russ to follow him outside, discretely. Nodding, he steeled a look

back inside the house, and then went back outside with Tenchi.

"What's up?"

"Ryoko and myself are going to buy Aeka a small

present," he said, jumping right to the point. "She seems to be

depressed lately, and we wanted to get her something special, to let

her know we still care about her."

"I see. And why did I need to know this?" he asked

politely.

"Well, we want to keep it secret from her. We're going to

give it to her later today. It's just a little sympathy present. Would

you mind, once we get to the mall, accompanying Aeka, while

Ryoko and myself go and get her gift, and maybe something for us

too?"

"Sure, not a problem. I kind of figured that was going to

be the plan anyway," he said, grinning. "But it's fine with me."

He turned thoughtful for a moment. "I have noticed she seems sad.

Maybe I should get her something too. I'll be with her, so

whatever she picks out I'll buy. But, there is a small problem. I

don't have any Japanese currency."

"Don't worry about it. I'll give you some money to buy

just about anything she may want."

"If you say so," Russ said, snickering. "Most women

love the same things, which are usually all outrageously priced."

He started laughing.

Tenchi just started at him. "Well, she's not like that. She

really doesn't have any wants or desires."

"Doesn't matter. But I'll see about getting her something

nice."

"Okay. Good enough. I'm going to go ask Sasami,

Washu, Kiyone, and Mihoshi if they'd like to go."

"Right," he announced, nodding his head. "I'll go take a

fast shower and put on some normal clothes. Who is taking us?"

"I hope dad will. He has today off, so it shouldn't be too

bad."

"Alright. See you in ten minutes."

"Good. Now remember the plan," Tenchi said, holding

up his index finger. "Don't tell her about our present, or it will

ruin the surprise."

"Yeah, yeah. I know the routine," he laughed, and then

walked up the stairs to his room.

Ten minutes later, everybody, even Washu, piled into the

van with Nobuyuki at the wheel. Russ was now dressed in a light

blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans shorts that went down to his knees.

His muscles were so large that the shirt was being stretched around

the sleeves. Everybody else dressed in his or her normal, everyday

clothes. Aeka in her blue, green and purple kimono that she loved

to wear, Sasami in her pink and green one, Washu in her standard

science academy uniform, Ryoko in her blue and yellow kimono

that had a tail, and Tenchi, now wearing cargo shorts and a tank

top.

Ryo-Ohki wanted to come along, and put up a fit when

she found out pets weren't allowed in the mall. She transformed

into her childlike human form, and continued to protest.

"Oh, I guess you can come," Sasami giggled. "Just make

sure you stay that way while we're in the mall or we may get

thrown out."

Ryo-Ohki meowed an affirmative and hopped onto

Sasami's lap. She was wearing her pink dress with that cute carrot

logo on the front.

Two seconds after they all piled into the van, Kiyone's

wristband started beeping.

"Oh great! This just figures. We have an emergency!

Let's go, Mihoshi!" Kiyone re-opened the door and jumped out.

"Oh no!" Mihoshi whined, being pulled out of the van by

Kiyone. "Why does this always happen to us?"

"I know it's annoying, but we've got a job to do!"

Kiyone turned back toward the van. "Sorry guys, but we have to

go. Have fun for us while you're there, okay?"

"Sorry you guys. You can come with us the next time we

go," Tenchi offered.

The two Galaxy Police officers ran behind the house, and

a moment later, their shuttle roared out of the backyard and into

the atmosphere.

The ride to the mall was short and uneventful, but

uncomfortable even with the van's air conditioning system.

Nobuyuki dropped everyone off and said he'd return in two hours.

Everybody walked inside and made their way through the eatery,

which was right inside the entrance to the place. They all breathed

a sigh of relief when they felt the rush of nice, cool, seventy-four

degree air come in contact with their skin.

"Okay," Tenchi began, standing near a fountain. "We'll

go our own separate ways. Ryoko and I are going to go shop

around, and the rest of you can divide up as you please. We'll

meet back here in two hours for dad to pick us all up."

Everybody nodded, except for Russ, who frowned. He

turned toward Aeka. "Well, would you mind if I accompanied

you? Tenchi and Ryoko want to go off on their own, and I'll go

with you," he said, and then turned his attention to Washu, Sasami

and Ryo-Ohki. "What about you three? You're welcome to tag

along with one of our little groups or go off on your own."

"Actually, Sasami?" Tenchi said, shifting uneasily. "Now

that I think about it, would you mind coming along with us?"

"Sure, I don't mind," said the little blue haired princess,

smiling the whole time. "Where are we going first?"

"We'll think of something. What about you, Washu?" he

asked.

"I think I'm going to tag along with Russ and Aeka. Who

knows, I may split off and go off on my own too. But for now,"

she said, latching onto Russ, "I'm going with him!"

Aeka's bitter streak skyrocketed and she was about to

protest, when Washu released him. "Okay then, have fun! See

you guys in a couple hours," Tenchi said, and made his way over

to the escalator, tailed by Ryoko, Sasami and the spaceship.

"Well, where would you like to go first? Is there anything

that had interested you?" Russ asked both Washu and Aeka. "I'm

just here because you talked me into going."

They all stood and looked at each other for a few

moments, and then Russ shrugged his shoulders. "Well, let's just

browse. What's that, over there?" he said, making his way over to

the first store, which was filled with leather jackets and other

leather accessories. He stopped in front of the window, checking

out a full-length leather coat. Aeka and Washu were behind him,

admiring him rather than the jacket he was looking at.

Sensing something odd, he turned around and looked at

the two girls, who both had the same, mischievous smile on their

faces. He began to perspire slightly, then snickered. "I'm going

inside. There may be something in there that's nice."

The two girls followed him inside, as he stopped by the

coat rack. Checking out the full-length, black leather coat, he

pulled it off the hanger and held it up, as it made little squeaky

noises. He put his arms in the sleeves and slid the coat on, draping

it over his muscular form. "I feel like someone out of The

Matrix," he snickered, while he admired himself in a mirror that

was nearby. "All I need now are" he spied exactly what he was

looking for, in the perfect style, "sunglasses." He put them on his

nose and put his arms to his sides, and did his best impression of

Morpheus.

Washu and Aeka both looked at him, and were very

impressed.

"I think that coat and sunglasses look good on you," Aeka

giggled, walking over to him and checking him out.

"I agree," Washu added. "It actually suits you, with your

black hair."

"You think so?" he said, smiling. "I don't know. Let's

get out of here or I may wind up buying something." He laughed,

and put the coat and sunglasses back where he found them.

Turning around, Aeka grabbed him by the arm.

"Do you want that coat?" Aeka asked.

Russ shook his head. "No. I was never really into

leather. I just wanted to check it out. Besides, fifty five thousand

yen for a coat is a little insane, if you ask me. Besides, it's the

middle of summer."

"Well, if you say so," she said, sounding a little

disappointed. Russ gestured for the ladies to exit the store, which

they accepted graciously. Russ followed behind them.

After they left the leather store, they checked out the store

next to it. It was filled, wall-to-wall with movies and DVD's.

Russ rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked at the two women.

"You want to go in here? I wonder if there are any new anime that

I'd be interested in."

Aeka had already begun to make her way into the store,

heading over to the drama section. Washu headed over to the

nature and science area, and Russ made his way to the anime

section. Browsing the many DVD videos that were available, he

set his eyes on several anime that he enjoyed. Nearly everything

was here, too. Vision of Escaflowne, Record of Lodoss War OVA,

Record of Lodoss War Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, all the

Gundam series and movies, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ninja

Scroll, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sailor Moon, Ronin Warriors, Blue

Submarine Number 6, and even Outlaw Star.

"Wow, awesome. They still have all of this stuff.

However, it's a bit more expensive than it used to be. Darn

inflation," he grumbled to himself. He looked up and over the

shelves, and saw Aeka, who had a couple tapes in her hand. He

moved his way over to her and looked over her shoulder, trying to

get a better look of the covers.

"What do you have there?" he asked, startling her

slightly.

She looked up from browsing the hundreds of tapes. "I

was just checking out some movies that I haven't seen yet, that are

supposed to be really good." She handed him the tapes. One of

them was Titanic, which Russ resisted the temptation to shudder at,

and the other tape was Terms of Endearment, which he had never

seen. "I was also looking at this one," she said, pointing at another

tape, with the label, Gone With the Wind.

Russ resisted the urge to make croaking and gagging

noises at her picks for movies. "Would you like to get these

movies?" he asked, instead.

"Well, I was going to get these two, but I don't know

about this third one here."

"Get it. What's to lose?"

She looked at him incredulously, and then smiled. "Yeah,

you're right," she announced, picking up the tape.

"Anything else you may want?"

"I think this is enough for now. What about you? Did

you see anything you wanted?"

"Not really. I heard there were two good movies

produced while I was off-planet. One of them was called Titan

A.E, or Titan - After Earth, which was produced a few years ago,

and another one was called Blue Planet, which was only recently

produced. They're both computer animated movies, and they look

really cool."

"Well, why don't you get them?"

"Nah. I'd probably be the only one to watch them."

"Why should that stop you?" she asked, looking at him

with a hint of confusion.

"Who cares? Where is Washu? I wonder if she picked

out anything," he said, avoiding the question. Aeka continued to

look at him, trying to figure out why he wouldn't just buy the

movies.

"Aw, come on. Just get them, if it'll give you something

to do for a rainy day," she begged.

"I guess. I'm a little thrifty though. I don't spend money

unless I need to."

"Give me a break," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll buy

the videos if you don't. What were those titles again?"

"Oh no you don't. You aren't buying me anything," he

retorted, sternly. "I'll get them some other time, like for Christmas

or something."

Not used to being refused, she challenged him a little

more. "No. We'll get them now. I want to see them," she

declared, glaring at him. She put down two of the tapes she was

going to buy.

He stared back at her, furrowing his own eyebrows

together. "I can be as stubborn as you, Aeka. No," he growled, as

he turned around to go find Washu. She grabbed his arm and spun

him back around, producing a look of total shock on Russ' face.

"What are you doing?" he snarled. "I told you I don't

want the movies. Sheesh."

"I told you that I wanted to see them. You said they were

Titan A.E. and Blue Planet?"

Russ continued to glare at her and didn't say anything.

"Fine, I'll go look for them," she snapped, turning on her

heel and making her way to the animated section of the store. Russ

continued to watch her in total surprise and bewilderment, then

shook his head, and picked up the two tapes Aeka had left behind.

He then moved over to the science area, in search of Washu.

In another part of the mall, Ryoko, Tenchi, Sasami, and

Ryo-Ohki were browsing through a clothing store, checking out

sweaters, t-shirts, shorts, pants, and other various clothes. Ryoko

was playing dress-up with Tenchi, making him put on dozens of

different clothing combinations, trying to decide what looked best

on him. Sasami was doing almost the same thing with Ryo-Ohki,

except they traded off after each set of clothes.

Ryoko was having a lot of fun, dressing up Tenchi in a lot

of different styles and colors. After about the twelfth combination,

he started complaining since Ryoko wasn't dressing up herself.

"No, I'm not putting on these clothes! I'm getting tired of

this. It was fun the first couple of times but now it's annoying," he

complained. "Why don't you try on some of this stuff?"

"Because it's more fun to dress you up, silly," she

giggled, as she handed him yet another handful of clothes. This

particular combo had blue jeans shorts and a lighter blue t-shirt.

"Come on, just try this last pair on and then I'll stop, okay?" she

begged.

Tenchi sighed in defeat. "Oh, alright. But this is the last

pair!" He made his way into the changing room for the thirteenth

time and began dressing.

Ryoko checked on Sasami, who had now dressed Ryo-

Ohki in a fluorescent yellow-green dress that went down to her

knees. Like with most of her other dresses, this had a logo of a

large, orange carrot on the front. Surprisingly, it really brought out

the yellow in her eyes and she meowed in approval. Giggling,

Sasami handed her a straw hat that she put on the cabbit's head and

stepped back.

"I like this," she said, smiling. "Lets get this for you,

okay?"

Ryo-Ohki meowed an enthusiastic approval and smiled.

"Hey Sasami?" Ryoko said, walking over to the little

princess.

She turned. "What is it, Ryoko?"

"Do you think your sister would like anything in here?"

Sasami looked a little confused by the question, but she

brightened up and smiled. "Well, not really. She wears kimonos

most of the time, and she never really cared for earth clothes."

"Oh, I see. Well, if we find a store that has something in

it that she would like, would you tell us?"

"Sure, but why?"

"Tenchi and myself want to get Aeka a present, to cheer

her up. She seems to be a lot sadder than usual, and we want to get

her something special."

"So you noticed it too, huh?" she mumbled, her face

turning downcast a little, but immediately bouncing back to her

cutest smile. "Sure! I'll be happy to show you the things she

would like!"

"Okay, but keep it a secret from her. It's going to be a

surprise."

"You can count on me!" She thought a moment. "This is

the reason you wanted me to come long with you guys, isn't it?"

She winked, and turned her attention back to Ryo-Ohki. At that

moment, Tenchi came out of the dressing room, dressed in the

clothes Ryoko had given him.

Tenchi slowly turned around, showing off the style.

"Well? What do you think of this set?"

Giggling, she grabbed him in another hug. "You've

looked good in everything I've put you in. I don't think it matters

what style of clothes you wear," she whispered into his ear.

"Stop that. You're going to spoil me," he snickered.

Ryoko became serious for a moment. "I asked Sasami

what Aeka would like. She's going to help us out, and keep it a

secret."

"Well, at least we'll get an idea of the things she'd have

an interest in." Tenchi turned to go back into the dressing room.

"Ready to get out of here and go on to the next store?"

"Yeah, okay." Ryoko held up a pile of clothes. "I'm

getting you all of these, and the clothes you have on."

"Ryoko! I don't need all that stuff! I've got plenty at

home and I don't have the closet space."

"Yeah right," she giggled. "You had plenty of room even

after I put all my clothes in it."

Groaning, he returned to the dressing room to put his own

clothes back on. Ryoko put the pile of shorts, shirts, and

underclothes into a carryall basket and moved back to Sasami,

watching her with interest.

"We're getting ready to leave the store here, Sasami, so

get everything you want together," Ryoko informed her.

"Okay." She turned toward the spaceship. "Come on,

Ryo-Ohki." She followed Sasami back to the dressing room as

Tenchi emerged with his clothes on.

"Do you know how much these things cost, Ryoko?"

"It doesn't really matter to me, Tenchi," she whispered

seductively. "Nothing is too expensive for my love."

"It does matter. I didn't bring a huge amount of money

with me."

"Who said anything about paying for them?"

Tenchi looked back at her in utter horror. "What?!

You're not stealing these things!"

"Aw, come on, Tenchi! It'll be fun! And remember, I am

a space pirate. I need the practice," she begged, grinning from ear

to ear, with her soft, golden, kitten like eyes gazing into Tenchi.

"NO!"

"But, Tenchiiiiii!"

"I said, NO!"

Ryoko looked about ready to cry and she hung her head,

placed the basket of clothes on a shelf, and started to slowly walk

away. Once again, Tenchi's conscience pricked at him for being

mean to her.

"Oh, okay, Ryoko." She immediately brightened back up

and nearly tackled him. "But we're not stealing them. I'll just buy

the things, okay?"

"Oh, you're no fun, Tenchi." She made little cooing

noises as she continued to hug him. Sasami and Ryo-Ohki came

up behind them, unnoticed.

"Are you two finished and ready to go?" she asked,

startling both of them, but only embarrassing Tenchi.

"Yeah," they both said at the same time.

They carried all the clothes up to the cash register and

paid for them, which put quite a dent in Tenchi's wallet, but he still

had enough for a nice gift for Aeka. Leaving the store, they slowly

began walking down the mall corridor, checking out the interiors

of most of the stores and searching for something that would peak

Aeka's interest.

Coming to a jewelry store, Sasami stopped and pointed.

"Aeka loves jewelry. And so do I." She grinned, and stepped

inside.

Ryoko, Tenchi and Ryo-Ohki all followed the little

princess, admiring the precious metals and stones through the glass

cases. An older gentleman approached the four.

"Can I help you with anything today?" he asked, politely.

"Not at the moment. We're just looking," Tenchi

answered.

"Okay. Let me know if you see anything you like," he

said, walking back toward the counter and turning around. He

continued to watch them as they slowly made their way around the

store.

"Well, what would you recommend, Sasami?" Ryoko

asked.

"Just about anything in here, actually," she replied,

pushing her face near one of the showcases that were filled with

various pendants and lockets.

Tenchi looked over her shoulder, also giving everything

in the case a good look over. A few moments later, one item

caught his eye. "Hey, what do you think of that?" he questioned,

pointing toward a small pendant, designed as a bird, and had an

amethyst stone for an eye.

The three girls looked over at what he was pointing at,

and all of them smiled and nodded.

"That's really pretty," Ryoko stated, putting her arm

around Tenchi's waist. "Doesn't that bird have a special meaning

behind it?"

"That bird is actually a phoenix," said the gentleman, who

had overheard them. He made his way over to the case and opened

it up, removing the pendant and allowing Tenchi to get a closer

look at it. "It is a mythical bird that supposedly had lived in Egypt

for over five hundred years, and later it consumed itself by fire,

and was later reborn from those ashes," he explained. "It can be

interpreted as a symbol of immortality. It also means a thing of

unsurpassed excellence or beauty, or a paragon."

Tenchi, Ryoko, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki all looked at each

other, realizing the same thing at the same time. It's the ideal item

to get for her. Ryo-Ohki meowed an encouragement, tugging on

Tenchi's shirt.

"I think it's perfect!" Sasami beamed. "It has all the

necessary meanings behind it."

"I don't know," Ryoko began. "The thing about the

unsurpassed beauty part of it, anyway." She grinned at Tenchi,

pulling him a little closer.

"It is very pretty," he said, fingering the pendant. "Do

you really think she'd like this?"

"Yes! She'd be so surprised to get that from you,

Tenchi," Sasami declared.

"Actually, both Ryoko and myself are giving her the gift."

He turned toward the clerk. "We'll take this."

The salesman smiled. "Nice choice. It's fourteen karat

gold with diamond cuts. The stone is an amethyst, and it weighs in

at a little less than four grams," he said, as Tenchi handed over the

pendant. "Would you like to take a look at our fine selection of

chains to go with it?" he inquired, gesturing to a glass case a few

feet further into the store.

"Yeah, okay," he said, as all four of them moved over to

the showcase. They all admired the gleaming gold, silver, and a

couple platinum necklaces, in different cuts and lengths.

"Well, Sasami? Recommendation?" Ryoko said, placing

her hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know. They're all so pretty," she said, still

peering into the case. "She does like things that sparkle though."

The spaceship meowed an agreement.

"I guess we could get one of those," Tenchi said, pointing

toward a rope chain. "That looks like it has a lot of sparkle and

dazzle to it."

"Yeah, but it also looks kind of plain," she mumbled.

"I don't have a fortune to spend either, Sasami. But I

think she'll like it."

"Yeah, you're right. She's really going to love that

pendant too. The gem is real close to Aeka's eye color."

"What do you think, Ryoko?" Tenchi said, nudging her

gently.

"I think it's wonderful," she responded, smiling. "It'll

really make her happy, and me too."

Tenchi was about to wave the salesman over, but he was

already on his way. "See anything you like?"

"Yes, we want that one, right there," he answered,

pointing to the chain in question.

"Okay. That one is also solid fourteen karat gold, and is

diamond cut. It's eighteen inches long, and weighs about six

grams," he said, opening up the case and withdrawing the gold

necklace. "Will that be all for today?"

Tenchi nodded. "I don't think I could afford anything

else." He smiled meekly.

"Well, you came at a good day. The two items you

picked out were on sale," the clerk said, moving over to the cash

register. He entered the two items into the computer and slid the

pendant onto the chain, and then put them both in a small,

rectangular box. "Your total comes to twenty thousand, twenty

nine yen."

Nearly having a heart attack from the cost, his forehead

beaded with perspiration. "This stuff is more expensive than I

thought. And it's on sale too?"

"Yeah. Fifty percent off the marked prices."

"Well, better get it now before the price goes up again,"

he said while fishing out his wallet. He handed over the money

and accepted the box. He gave a small bow, and the clerk did as

well. The four turned and left the store, re-entering the chaos of

the mall.

"She'll really be happy with that gift, Tenchi," Sasami

reassured him.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I think she'll like it

too. It just cost a lot more than I was expecting. Mall prices are

always too high though."

"You could've been like me and stolen it, Tenchi," Ryoko

cooed, poking him in the ribs. Tenchi laughed and took her by the

hand.

"No, I couldn't do that. I don't like getting into trouble."

"You don't get into trouble if you don't get caught,

Tenchi," she giggled. "I should know that better than anyone."

"And how could I have gotten away with this with the

guy standing right there in front of us almost the whole time?"

Ryoko stopped and thought a moment. "Yeah, you're

right. Oh well." Her stomach croaked lightly. "Oh boy, I guess

I'm getting hungry."

"Well, we could get a light snack if you want. It is almost

dinner time, and dad should be here in a little while to pick us up."

"A light snack will do just fine," Ryoko answered. She

looked around and sniffed the air, catching a hint of pastries

wafting through the mall. "Mmmm," she moaned softly.

"Cinnamon rolls."

She started walking toward the scent as the other three

followed closely behind. Eventually they all came to a rather large

bakery, which had dozens upon dozens of various pastries laid out

on display. Chocolate-chip cookies were in the glass cases along

with jelly filled doughnuts, cinnamon buns, baked pretzels, even

loaves of freshly baked bread.

"Wow! Yum!" Ryoko walked up to the counter, trying

to decide what she wanted. Ryo-Ohki came up next to her and

pointed at something, meowing.

"What do you want?" she glanced down at her spaceship

and then to what she was pointing at. "Carrot cake? I don't think

you'll like that."

Ryo-Ohki stubbornly insisted that she wanted it.

"I'll get it for you," Sasami said, coming up from behind.

"I think I want to try some of that too."

Tenchi then came up to the case and browsed for

something that would tide him over for a little while, but not spoil

his dinner. "Hmmm I think I'm going to have that," he said,

pointing to a small box that was filled with various flavors of

doughnut holes.

A clerk took all their orders and handed them their

pastries, and the foursome took a seat at one of the nearby tables.

Ryoko got cinnamon sticky buns, Ryo-Ohki and Sasami both got

carrot cake, and Tenchi had his doughnut holes.

"Be right back," Tenchi got back up from his seat. "Do

any of you want something to drink? Pastries always dry me out if

I don't have something to wash them down with."

"What do they have?" Sasami asked.

"They've got pop, water, juice, probably coffee, and tea."

"I'll have orange juice," Sasami asked. "Please?"

"I want some tea, Tenchi." Ryoko smiled up at him.

"Well, okay. What about you, Ryo-Ohki? Do you want

pop?"

She shook her head.

"Tea?"

She shook her head again.

"Water?"

She meowed disappointment and shook her head yet

again.

"Juice?"

She nodded and meowed.

"Well, what flavor? They've got Orange"

She shook her head.

"I think she wants carrot juice," Sasami said. Ryo-Ohki

nodded enthusiastically.

"They don't have carrot juice, unfortunately. Sorry, Ryo-

Ohki. Do you have a second choice? How about just plain old

water?"

The spaceship's expression became downcast, but she

nodded and meowed an affirmative.

"Okay, I'll get you water. I'll give you some carrots once

we get home, okay?"

She immediately brightened back up and smiled, then

began eating her cake.

Tenchi smiled and went to the counter, got the drinks,

then returned. Ryoko smiled at him, as she licked off the frosting

on her fingers, ignoring the napkins that were on the table.

Suddenly she came up with a naughty idea, as she took another

bite of her bun, making sure to get more frosting on her fingers.

Then, after her index finger was sufficiently coated, she looked

over at Tenchi, and let out a sultry, "Mmmm" as she noisily

sucked on her finger.

Tenchi glanced over at her, noticing what she was doing,

but trying to keep himself under control.

"Ryoko," he whispered. "Don't do that here! Not in

front of Sasami!" he begged.

Her eyes smiled as she continued to taunt and tease him.

A little bit of frosting stuck just under her lower lip, and she deftly

let her pink tongue slide out, cleaning off the frosting, once again

letting out a long and seductive, "Mmmm"

Tenchi found himself unable to look away, as Sasami and

Ryo-Ohki started whispering to each other, giggling half the time.

Ryoko once again lifted her cinnamon bun to her lips and

took another bite, getting more frosting on her face. She chewed

slowly, and then swallowed, loudly enough to let Tenchi hear it.

His head beaded with perspiration, despite the cool air. Once

again Ryoko allowed her tongue to circle her lips, licking off the

frosting that coated them, as her eyes continued to watch him,

promising, pleading.

"I'm going to tell Aeka you're being perverted in front of

me, Ryoko," Sasami giggled.

Suddenly remembering Sasami was sitting there with her,

Ryoko blushed fiercely and so did Tenchi. "Okay, okay, you win,"

she sighed, smiling, never letting her gaze leave Tenchi's face. He

breathed a sigh of relief.

Everybody finished his or her snacks a few minutes later,

and Tenchi checked the time. "Well, we might as well head back

to the fountain. Time sure flew while we were here."

"Boy, you weren't kidding!" Sasami looked at a clock

that was on the wall. "It's past dinner time. I bet Father and

Grandfather are starving."

"I wouldn't worry about it. Dad can cook, even though

he's not a gourmet chef like you, Sasami," he said, smiling, and

causing her to blush lightly. Everybody got up from the table and

discarded their litter into a trashcan and walked back out into the

mall, trying to avoid the growing crowd of people. It was a few

minutes before five o'clock, and people were getting off of work

and flocking to the mall to shop and cool off. Ryoko sprinted

forward a few steps and latched onto Tenchi's arm, and Sasami

took Tenchi's other hand. Ryo-Ohki meowed a protest and latched

onto Sasami.

"Ahhh, to be surrounded with two beautiful ladies,"

Tenchi said, drawing Ryoko a little closer and squeezing Sasami's

hand. "This is bliss." He looked at both girls and they at him, then

all four of them started laughing.

"Tenchi, you're being spoiled," Ryoko teased, as she

walked along side him. "Maybe I should walk with Ryo-Ohki

instead."

Chuckling, Tenchi shook his head. "Maybe it's you who

is being teased, Ryoko. Maybe I should walk between Sasami and

Ryo-Ohki."

Ryoko grinned, in such a fashion to show the tips of her

fangs. "You're going to force me to humble you again, Tenchi,"

she said, seductively, as she started making little cooing noises and

giggling while she nudged up against him.

"Okay, okay, you made your point," he chuckled.

They made their way to the fountain they originally split

up at, and took a seat on a nearby bench to wait for Russ, Aeka,

and Washu. They didn't wait long, though. Aeka was walking

next to Russ, both of them eyeballing each other here and there,

and Washu walked on the other side of him. All three of them had

a bag of goodies in their hand.

"So," Tenchi said, as they made their way to the bench.

"You guys find everything you wanted?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Russ answered. "These girls are

torture. Do you have any idea how many different pairs of clothes

they made me put on? I lost count!" Both Tenchi and Russ started

laughing.

"Well, at least I'm not the only victim of dress-up today,"

Tenchi laughed. "Ryoko loves doing that to me whenever we go

to the mall."

"Aeka here has good taste in clothes, but man, she's

picky! I tried on FIVE different clothing combinations before she

settled on one that she liked."

"I just wanted you to look good," she snapped, glaring at

him. "There's no reason for you to look like a barbarian in

public."

"I am not a barbarian! I'm just as civilized as you are,"

he said, sticking out his tongue and giving her a raspberry. Her

face went to surprise, and then she glared at him, balling up both

her fists and growling at him.

"Well you should have better taste in clothes!"

"My tastes are none of your business, Miss Prissy Pants,"

he shot back. "I didn't see you trying on anything."

"I have enough clothes, thank you," she retorted. "You

just came in with a little duffel bag and nothing else!"

"So what! I don't need fifty million shirts and shorts. As

long as I've got enough to rotate them out to the washing machine

I'm fine. I don't care about clothes. Sheesh. Lighten up."

"No! You need some variety, rather than just wearing

your karate gi in different colors. I liked what I picked out for

you."

"I don't care! I like my clothes, and I didn't need any

others, especially the ones you picked out!"

"Fine! Live like a big, dumb barbarian!"

"Oh, shut up! I told you my preferences are my own!

You can wear a toga for all I care!"

Everybody perspired as they watched the two bicker back

and forth.

"So, Washu," Tenchi said discretely, trying to stay out of

the verbal war between Russ and Aeka. "Have they been doing

this the whole time?"

"Not really. Whenever they disagree it usually winds up

like this. Aeka isn't used to being refused something, or disagreed

with." She continued to watch them, as Russ kept on making

teasing gestures. "I think it's rather cute." She started giggling.

Tenchi shook his head and grinned. "Well, we got Aeka

something really nice. But anyway, did Russ get her anything?"

"I think so. He was looking at a few movies that he

wanted to see, but he wasn't going to get them. Aeka noticed it

and she tried convincing him to get the movies, which he refused,

and then she went and bought them instead of the tapes that she

picked out. Without her knowing, Russ bought the two tapes she

was looking at originally. It's rather sweet of him, even though

he's currently acting like a six year old," she whispered, still

keeping an eye on both of them. Fortunately they weren't shouting

at each other or flinging energy balls around.

"Do the world a favor and put a sock in it, you bitch!"

Russ snarled at Aeka.

"What?! How dare you speak to me like that, you

ruffian!" she returned.

Ryoko resisted the urge to explode laughing, as she

remembered the arguments she used to have with Aeka. They

were a lot of fun, and she also got the feeling that Aeka enjoyed

them too. It was a wonderful way to let off steam in a non-violent

way, however, between herself and Aeka, it usually turned into a

brawl. But so far, he seemed to be keeping better control over

himself in comparison to the way she used to behave. However, it

was still amusing to watch and remember. Like the time she had

tied up Tenchi and pulled him into Washu's cave, then tried to

seduce him for the first time which didn't work, because of Aeka.

The fight that ensued was a lot of fun, and after it, Washu was

released from her prison, who joined the family. Ahhh, those were

the times.

Sasami was about to interrupt the two, but Ryoko stopped

her. "Just let them fight. Aeka needs this. It's been such a long

time since she's been able to vent her frustrations," Ryoko

whispered to the little princess.

She reluctantly nodded and continued to watch them, with

perspiration beading on her forehead.

"Don't you tell me what I should do, you jerk!" Aeka

nearly shouted.

"So what gives you the right to do that to me?!" he yelled,

matching Aeka's fury and volume.

A large spark arced between their eyes.

"I think it's time to make our exit. Dad should be here

any minute," Tenchi said to Washu, Ryoko, Sasami, and Ryo-

Ohki. He turned his attention back to Russ and Aeka, who looked

about ready to murder each other. "Hey guys, it's time to go. Can

you do this later?"

Both Russ and Aeka ignored him and continued to stare

each other down, seething with rage. Suddenly, Russ straightened

up, and once again stuck out his tongue, giving Aeka yet another

raspberry. "I've had enough of this for now. It's time to go. After

you, Little Prissy Princess," he smirked, continuing his taunting.

She turned her nose up at him, letting out a "Humph!" and

making her way toward the door, just as Nobuyuki's van pulled up

to the entrance.

"Perfect timing! Let's go, everybody," Tenchi

announced, as he made his way outside into the sweltering heat

again. "Ugh. I hope it cools off a lot tonight. This heat sucks."

"You got that right, Tenchi," Ryoko said, as she held onto

his arm, letting him guide her out of the mall and into the van.

Russ got in first, followed by Aeka, who rode shotgun, Ryoko,

Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and then Tenchi.

"So, did you kids have a good time?" Nobuyuki asked as

he pulled away from the door.

"Yeah. We got everything we came for," Tenchi said,

patting the bags he carried with him.

"That's good. Anyway, your grandfather and myself

already ate, so you guys can either make your own dinner, or I can

quickly take you guys to a fast food joint so you guys can grab

something to eat there."

"Just take us home. No fast food place can match

Sasami's cooking," Ryoko declared, while grinning toward her.

"Okay, home it is then!" Nobuyuki turned on the stereo

and set it to an oldies station, causing Russ to cringe.

"Oh great, one of the only genres of music I never cared

for," he quietly grumbled to himself, but not quietly enough. Aeka

shot him a look and he returned it with a glare of his own, then

they both looked out the windows. "Little Prissy Princess," he

thought to himself, and then snickered.

Fortunately for them, the trip home was uneventful, aside

from the occasional glare between Russ and Aeka. Nobuyuki

made good time getting home, even though it was now rush hour.

He pulled into the driveway about twenty minutes after leaving the

mall, and shut off the van. Everybody piled out, and went into the

house to put their bags into their rooms and hang up the clothes

they had bought. Russ pulled Aeka's two tapes out of his bag and

took them downstairs, and set them on top of the TV, then went

outside.

Washu was going to return to her lab, and she told

everybody that she didn't want to be disturbed.

Aeka pulled out the two videos she had bought for Russ,

and tossed them onto her bed, glaring at them. Sasami walked into

the room a moment later.

"What's wrong, Aeka?" she said, concerned.

"Oooh, that Russ. He's so thick headed! Did you hear

those names he was calling me!? I'm the First Princess of Jurai! I

deserve more respect than that!" She started shaking with anger

again.

"Well, you were insulting him too, you know," she said,

smiling.

"Yeah, well, he started it," she said, but her resolve and

anger almost melted completely away, and she sighed. "That did

feel good though. I haven't fought like that in a long time. I

almost missed it." She was now smiling, and she patted her sister

on the head. "Well, what did you get, Sasami?"

She held up a couple of new dresses. "I got these, and I

also got some shorts, and t-shirts. I got Ryo-Ohki a couple of new

dresses too."

"That's nice, Sasami," she responded, looking at the

various items she produced out of the many bags.

"What about you, Aeka? Did you get anything?"

She slight frown creased her expression. "I got these two

videos for Russ, and this one for me," she said, holding up the

tapes.

Sasami took a closer look at both videos. "Are those

animated? They look really neat!"

"Yeah, well, I shouldn't have gotten them, not after the

way he treated me."

"You keep forgetting that you were doing it too, Aeka,"

she frowned. "Well, go put those on the TV or something and I'll

make us dinner.

"Okay, I'll help you with that. I'm hungry too," she said

as her stomach rumbled lightly. "Oh my." She blushed, then left

the room and went downstairs, and Sasami followed. As she

approached the TV, she saw a couple videos already sitting on top

of it. Taking a closer look, she realized it was the two movies she

was looking at originally. She became surprised, and she looked

around the room, but nobody was in it, so then she looked outside

and saw Russ near the lake, as his ki exploded around him in a

green fireball. She watched him with interest, as he brought both

his hands out in front of him. Suddenly, he began firing ki blasts

into the air at a very high rate of speed, alternating from hand to

hand, and then quickly using both hands at the same time. A

moment later, he threw a couple of yellow discs into the air and

started firing more ki balls after it, resembling a machine gun.

"Barbarian," she said to herself, and then started giggling as she

watched him train.

Tenchi and Ryoko both went to their room, and emptied

their bags onto the bed. Tenchi had a much larger pile than Ryoko

did, as he made his way over to the closet to get a mass of hangers.

"You sure made me get enough stuff, Ryoko. I think I

went a little overboard," he said, looking flustered.

She giggled and hugged him. "It all looks good on you,

Tenchi. At least I'm not as bad as Aeka when it comes to what

style you wear."

Tenchi kissed her on the cheek. "Yeah, that's true. Poor

Russ," he said, making both of them start laughing. "What was the

deal with him, anyway? He was fighting with her like you used

to."

"I know. It's been so long since we've had a fight, that I

think she missed it. We really didn't have anything to fight over

anymore, except when she pesters me about doing house chores. I

think she needed that."

"You think so?" he asked, thoughtfully. "Well, as long as

they don't blow up the house like you two nearly did on several

occasions, I guess it's alright."

"Tenchiiiiii! I can blow up the house even without her,"

she grinned wickedly, as she pushed Tenchi onto the bed, kissing

him.

"Whoa," he yelled, then started laughing. "Come on

Ryoko! Let's put this stuff away," he said in between laughs and

kisses. She giggled and continued kissing him, as her tail swished

back and forth in excitement. "Ryoko! Come on now, I'm going

to get mad," he tried to say though his laughing. He made an

attempt to sit up but she pushed him back down, making little

cooing noises.

"I" she kissed him. "Don't" she kissed him again.

"Care" she purred, as she continued kissing him. Tenchi

wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, giving her one

of his own crushing embraces.

"Now Ryoko, we have to put this stuff away, and Sasami

is making dinner," he said, as she continued to grope and paw at

him.

"So what," she moaned sensually, while she continued

kissing him. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"Well, I am. Come on, Ryoko," he begged.

She stopped and lifted herself up with her hands on either

side of Tenchi's head, her face tinged with hurt. "Don't you like

that?"

"I didn't mean it that way," he said, quickly. "But we

have other things to do, okay?"

"Wouldn't you rather do this, instead?" she said, her

voice pleading.

Tenchi grinned. "I've never done it before. But we have

other things to do first."

"I've never done it either," she said, causing Tenchi to

widen his eyes in total bewilderment. "What, you think I used to

sleep around?" Her expression became even more hurt.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I should've known

better."

"When you're an A1 class criminal, you don't get

attached to anybody. Not even for a one-night fling. Besides, I

was never interested in guys until I met you, Tenchi. Being a

criminal was fulfilling enough."

He smiled, and then pulled her down, kissing her. "I'm

sorry, Ryoko. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm just a little

timid." He frowned and thought a moment. "Really timid about

this kind of thing. It's all new to me."

"I'll have to fix that," she smiled, getting up off of him,

and hauling him up to a sitting position.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's get this stuff put away

and go get some dinner," he said, as his room started flashing with

colored light. Both he and Ryoko looked toward the window in

shock. "What the heck was that?"

They both ran to the window and watched Russ rapidly

shoot hundreds of various colored ki balls and discs into space.

"What is he doing?" Ryoko asked.

"He's probably training again. It's amazing how he can

do that."

"Well don't forget," she said, poking him, "that I can do

that too." His room filled with orange light has her sword flashed

into existence. She waved it around casually, and then let it vanish

as suddenly as it appeared.

Almost at that same moment, Russ stopped firing ki balls.

He held out his hand, as a small, green ball of energy formed in his

palm, and he squeezed. The ball quickly deformed and exploded,

shrouding him in a cloud of smoke. He tried again five more

times, and all five attempts to form a sword of his own blew up in

his face. He stomped his foot in frustration and restarted firing ki

blasts into the atmosphere, as Ryoko and Tenchi watched from

their bedroom window.

Ryoko giggled. "I guess he still can't form a sword."

"I can't either. I have to use Sword Tenchi in order for

me to use an energy sword, unless I call upon the lighthawk sword.

I wonder how the lighthawk wings would stand up against him?"

"Who knows? I'd rather not have to find out," Ryoko

said, worry in her voice.

"Yeah, but what about that Zorpheus guy he told us

about? From what Russ says about him, he is as strong as he is.

What happens if Zorpheus defeats him? None of us can beat either

of them right now. I want to be able to protect you guys from

whatever wants to bring harm to us."

Ryoko looked into his eyes and seeing nothing but

serenity. "Tenchi, that's so sweet. My own treasure defending his

captor," she said, kidding him on the cheek. "But it should be the

other way around. The pirate is supposed to defend her treasure."

"No, I would never have it that way," he said, looking her

in the eyes.

"Tenchi, listen to me. You're the single most important

thing to me. If something should ever happen to you, I'd die,

because I'd have nothing left to live for."

Tenchi's eyes went wide in shock. "Ryoko, don't talk

like that. It's morbid," he said, pulling her close and sitting back

down on the bed. "You are the single, most important thing to

me."

"But it's different for me, Tenchi. You are the only thing

I've got, and you're the only person who ever truly cared about

me. Likewise, if something were to happen to me, you'd be the

only one who would care. You're my life, Tenchi," she said,

almost on the brink of tears. "You're everything to me. The rest

of the universe could cease to exist, but as long as I have you, I

could live with it. I'd destroy everything, just to be with you. And

I'd follow you into death, as well. I could never bear the thought

of losing you."

Tenchi hugged her tightly. "Ryoko I'm not just the

only person who would care. Everybody here would miss you in

his or her own way." He hugged her tightly. "I don't think you'll

ever lose me, or will it ever come to that. I'll make sure of it, and

Russ would, too. As you know, good always triumphs over evil."

Ryoko looked up at him and smirked, as a tear fell from

her eye. "So you think." She kissed him. "Remember that I was

the evil space pirate for a long time, and nobody stopped me."

"Oh? And what am I? Chopped liver?" He started

chuckling.

She thought a moment. "You're right. You are the only

one to ever stop me." She hugged and kissed him again, and he

did the same.

"Come on, Ryoko," he whispered into her hear, his voice

almost inaudible. "Lets get this stuff put away and go get some

dinner."

She nodded and got up off the bed, as they both sorted out

their clothes and put everything away, until the house started

shaking. "Now what is Russ doing," Ryoko said, irritated. She

went to the window and looked outside, but he was just standing

there, looking up into the sky. Tenchi looked up in the same

direction he was, and saw something coming out of the

atmosphere.

"I think Kiyone and Mihoshi are home," Tenchi said. He

quickly hung up the rest of the stuff and left the room, and Ryoko

followed. They both went outside and joined Russ, as a large

vessel neared the house. Aeka poked her head out of the kitchen,

catching a glimpse of Ryoko and Tenchi as they ran outside. A

few moments later, a large, red ship landed in their backyard.

Kiyone and Mihoshi both exited the ship and walked

over. "Hi guys! We got a new ship!" Kiyone said, gesturing to the

massive hulk sitting behind her. "It's a newer Yagami class vessel.

It's a lot better and more comfortable than that dinky patrol shuttle

we were forced to use."

"Congratulations! It looks really nice," Tenchi said,

walking over to Kiyone.

"Yeah! Galaxy Police headquarters had handed these

things out to just about everybody, but we were one of the last to

get one," Mihoshi pouted. "You'd think they'd give them to

everybody at once."

"Yeah, it would've been nice to have one of these things

when they started producing them, but oh well. We have one now

and we shouldn't complain." She turned back toward everybody.

"Well, anyway, what about dinner? I'm starving!"

"Yeah, me too. All we have on board are these cardboard

ration bars because we can't afford" Mihoshi had a hand over

her mouth.

"Shut up, Mihoshi!" Kiyone looked at everybody and let

out a nervous laugh. "What about that dinner?" she asked again.

"Sasami should be just about finished with it. Let's go

see," Russ said, making his way back to the house. Everybody

followed suit and went inside. Sasami was putting the last of the

dishes on the table.

"Oh, you're all just in time for dinner!" Sasami beamed as

they all took a seat. "I hope everybody's hungry! I know I sure

am!"

"Yum!" Russ was almost drooling over himself. Aeka

giggled lightly, noticing him. "All this stuff looks so good! But I

better wait until all of you are done eating, and then I'll eat the

leftovers."

"Nonsense. You sit there and eat with us," Aeka told

him, pulling him down to a seat next to her.

He quietly growled to himself and sat down. "Being

ordered around by a woman! What's next?!?!" he thought to

himself. "Whatever." He said, aloud, picking up a plate and filling

it with food.

Dinner had past without incident, except for Ryoko's

subtle flirting with Tenchi, and the occasional glare between Russ

and Aeka. Once the table was cleared off, everybody went off to

do various evening activities. Kiyone and Mihoshi went back to

their ship to set it up the way they wanted it. Russ sat down at the

organ, plugged in the headphones once again, and began to create

the little theme he promised Sasami, randomly hitting a few keys,

until something sparked his imagination. He hit the record button

on the computer and began playing. Sasami and Ryo-Ohki sat in

front of the TV, playing a video game. Aeka had gone off for a

walk in the forest, with the sun setting in the distance, and the

temperature dropping steadily, but slowly. Many large clouds

lingered in the sky. Ryoko and Tenchi went to their room and

retrieved the present for Aeka, and noticed that she was walking

off toward the forest. They quickly left the house and caught up

with her.

"Aeka! Hold on a minute," Tenchi called, as he jogged

over to her, with Ryoko floating by his side. "Wait up!"

Aeka slowed down her pace and allowed them to catch

up. "Yes Tenchi? What is it? Is something wrong?" she asked,

looking worried. She stopped and faced them.

He shook his head. "No, nothing is wrong. At least, not

at the house." He produced a small box from behind his back.

"Aeka, Ryoko and myself noticed you seem to be a little depressed

lately, so we bought you a little gift, from both of us, in hopes that

it would make you feel a little better."

Tenchi thought about his words and how much he wished

they could've expressed the true depth of the feelings that he had,

and how much he valued their friendship. He wished he could've

presented his words and the gift with much more grace, but he was

never really good at doing this sort of thing. He watched Aeka's

expression go from worry to mild shock, and he grinned in

response. Ryoko also smiled.

"This is for you, Aeka, from both Tenchi and myself. I

hope you like it," Ryoko said, as Tenchi handed over the box.

"You shouldn't have," she whispered, accepting the box

as graciously as she could. She gave a small bow, and Tenchi and

Ryoko did too. She removed the box top, revealing the glittering

gold necklace, and the shiny amethyst stone on the pendant. She

gasped, placing a hand over her mouth as she did, and a few tears

started streaming down her face. "It's beautiful," she said,

choking back a sob.

"This isn't quite the reaction we were hoping for," Ryoko

whispered to Tenchi, but Aeka overheard it.

"No, no it's wonderful," she said, lifting the gold out of

the box and letting it hang from her hand, watching the small bird

swing back and forth, catching the dim sunlight and glittering with

radiance. She admired the jewelry for a few moments, and then

put it back inside the box, sliding it into her kimono. She grabbed

Tenchi in a crushing hug, sobbing quietly on his shoulder. "Thank

you, Tenchi," she cried, squeezing him a little tighter, and then

letting him go. She looked up at Ryoko, moved over to her, and

gave her a hug too. "Thank you too, Ryoko. You guys mean so

much to me."

"You're welcome, Aeka," Ryoko said, holding the

princess in a firm grasp. "It's the least we could do, to let you

know we still care very much about you and your feelings."

"Aeka, we did it because we still care about you and love

you. We don't want to see you depressed anymore, so we had to

try to make you happy again."

Aeka sniffled and let go of Ryoko, and took a step back,

pulling out the necklace again and looking at it.

"The bird is a phoenix," Tenchi explained. "It means a

sign of unsurpassed beauty. We thought it would be the perfect

gift and meaning to give to you."

Aeka looked up, stunned at both Tenchi and Ryoko, and

her tears began anew. She grabbed Tenchi in another hug, nearly

crushing the life out of him. He returned her embrace, and gave

her a little kiss on the cheek. "We will always love you, Aeka.

You're the greatest friend I've ever had."

Ryoko swallowed a lump in her throat. "That goes for me

too, Aeka," she said, quietly.

Aeka had never felt so moved by people, in her entire life.

Before she had crash-landed on Earth, she had attended many

marriage meetings, trying to find a suitable husband, besides

Yosho, that would strengthen her home. It was not her place to

choose a husband out of her own feelings, because it was

considered very selfish. The men she had met at those meetings

had always presented her with gifts, ranging anywhere from the

galaxy's finest silk to the most extravagant jewels that could be

found. However, all of those meetings seemed so false.

Everything was carefully planned out, as if they were following a

script, and not their hearts.

The simple gold necklace that Ryoko and Tenchi

presented to her was nothing in comparison with the priceless

jewelry she was presented with during those marriage meetings,

but the meaning behind the gift was worth more to her than all the

gold and jewels in the entire universe. She continued to clench the

small bird in her hand, with the shining amethyst gem that matched

her eyes perfectly, and she really cherished the meaning behind all

of it. It was a feeling that words cannot describe, and it was the

most beautiful, wonderful, most fulfilling emotion she has ever

felt.

Her tears began once more, slowly trickling down her

face. "Thank you, Tenchi, and Ryoko, for the gift. What you have

given me is almost worth more than anything I've ever gotten

before, and I'll treasure it, always."

"It didn't cost that much," Tenchi said, holding her and

gently scratching her back.

"No," she sniffled. "The meaning behind it all is the most

valuable gift you have given me. I don't know how to repay

you."

"We didn't give this to you expecting to be repaid. We

gave it to you because because we care about you, and we

wanted to let you know that we still care about you. All we want is

your continued friendship, and nothing more," Tenchi told her,

giving her a reassuring squeeze, then letting her go.

She let out a heavy sigh, and dried her eyes with the

sleeve of her kimono, then smiled. She held up the chain once

more, looking at the glittering amethyst as it caught the remaining

rays of sunlight before the sun disappeared behind the shrine.

"Hey Sasami?"

"What is it, Russ?" she asked, moving next to him.

He looked over at the karaoke machine. "Do you like to

sing?"

She smiled. "Yeah, just about everybody here does.

Ryoko, Aeka, Washu, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and myself all have sang

songs before. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I finished your theme, but it's kind of short. I was

just curious if you'd like to sing something. I have another piece

floating around in my head, and I wanted to know if you would

sing it."

Her eyes went wide as she gasped, and gave one of the

cutest smiles Russ had ever seen. "Yes! I'd love to!"

Smiling, Russ patted her on the head. "I'll write up the

lyrics tonight, and I should have the song ready by tomorrow."

"I can't wait!" She bounced lightly on her heels as Ryo-

Ohki meowed her enthusiasm on top of her head.

Russ chuckled. "Ryo-Ohki, you're so cute," he said,

scratching around her long, floppy ears. "I'm surprised I haven't

sneezed that much around here. I wonder if I'm finally able to

cope with my allergies." He tried breathing through his nose, but

snorted. "Well, at least I'm not sneezing."

Sasami giggled. "Can I hear my song now?"

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that. I saved it to this

disk here, so you can play it back whenever you want. But

anyway, I hope you like this. I haven't really decided what to call

it. 'Happy Sasami', 'Sasami Kawaii', and 'Cute Sasami' all seem

to fit this. But anyway, here it is." He pulled the plug to the

headphones, hit the play and record buttons on the computer,

turned up the volume, while the sound of drums started playing

through the speakers, along with other various instruments. The

song progressed, and Russ began playing the main instruments.

He used a xylophone on the lower keyboard, and some other

instrument on the upper keyboard while he played along with the

rhythm, keeping perfect time.

Tenchi, Ryoko, and Aeka were just outside the door, out

of sight, as they all sat on the porch. They all heard the music

coming from the living room, and stopped talking to listen. As the

song progressed, Tenchi thought about the very first time he met

Sasami, when she arrived to pick up her sister. He was looking up

toward the sky, and noticed a white vapor trail forming behind

what he originally thought to be a jet, until it started darting all

over the place, making circular patterns. Backing up from the

shock, he tripped over a tree root and fell over, and then heard

someone giggling at him from behind. He rolled over and looked

up, and that was the very first time he saw Sasami. He snickered

to himself, remembering how silly he must've looked.

Russ finished the song about a minute and a half later,

faded the music out, and hit the stop button on the MIDI computer.

He turned toward the little princess. "So, does it get the Sasami

seal of approval?" he asked, smiling.

She nodded. "Thank you! That was so nice of you to do

that for me."

"It's your own personal theme. You can play it back

whenever you want. Just pop the disk into the organ and load up

the song, and hit the play button. The whole song is complete, so I

don't have to sit here and play any extra instruments. But now,

I'm going to work on another song, and this one will probably take

me a lot longer to complete than the one I just did. It will have a

lot more instruments, and it will be kind of like a rock song. I

think you'll like it."

Sasami gave him a little hug. "I'm sure I will. And I get

to sing along with this song?"

Russ nodded, and Sasami clasped her hands together in

excitement. Ryo-Ohki started meowing like crazy, then jumped

off of Sasami's head onto the bench, next to Russ. She looked up

at him and started meowing even more.

"What do you want, Ryo-Ohki?"

She meowed a few more times and nodded her head

toward the organ.

Russ watched her, perspiration forming on his brow. "Do

you want to play the organ?"

She shook her head and meowed a few more times,

nudging him then nodding toward the organ again.

"I think she wants you to make her a theme too," Sasami

said, reading the cabbit's thoughts almost as if she were

telepathically connected with it, as Ryoko was. Ryo-Ohki meowed

an agreement and nodded her head.

"So you want a theme as well, eh? Well, I guess I can do

that for you, you cute little thing," he chuckled, scratching on top

of her head. He sighed. "Well, I'm going to do this new song,

starting right now. I've actually got it all planned out in my mind,

and all I've got to do is put it into the organ," he said, excitedly.

He plugged the headphones back in. "I'll be doing this for a while,

Sasami, so don't disturb me. Actually, even if you did, I probably

wouldn't notice!" Laughing, he put the headphones back on,

changed the instruments, hit the record button on the computer,

and silently began playing.

Ryo-Ohki jumped off the bench and resumed her perch on

top of Sasami's head, as she went outside, trying to escape some of

the heat from inside the house. She stopped as soon as she exited

the door, seeing Aeka, Tenchi, and Ryoko, all sitting on the porch,

quietly conversing with each other.

"What are all of you doing out here? It's getting dark,

and it looks like it's going to rain," she said, pointing to the many

clouds that were now blanketing the darkening sky. Walking over

to the group, she noticed that Aeka's cheeks were stained with

tears. "What happened, Aeka?"

She looked up at her younger sister. "Nothing, Sasami.

They just gave me the most perfect gift I could have ever gotten

from anybody."

Letting out a huge sigh of relief, she smiled. "So you

liked the pretty necklace that Ryoko and Tenchi picked out for

you?"

"Yes." She held it up by the chain for Sasami to see.

Looking at it for a long minute, she lowered her hand and smiled at

her two very best and closest friends.

"Aren't you going to put it on, Aeka? It would be rude

not to."

"Oh my gosh, I never even thought of it. I've just been

admiring it this whole time," she giggled, then unfastened the

chain and redid it behind her neck, and allowing it to drape over

her kimono. She thought a moment, and then put it under her

clothing.

"Why did you do that?" Tenchi asked.

"Now, it's closest to my heart, as you two are," she told

them. "I'll never take it off. Never."

"That's so sweet, sis," Sasami said, giving Aeka a hug,

then Tenchi, and then Ryoko. "I'm so glad everybody is happy

again."

"Me too, Sasami," Aeka responded, smiling warmly.

"I'm so glad to have friends like I do here."

"I second that," Ryoko added.

"I agree as well," Tenchi said.

"And I agree with you guys!" Sasami giggled. A few

moments of silence passed. "So, now what do we do?"

"We could watch one of the movies I bought today,"

Aeka suggested.

"Good idea! What did you get, Aeka?" Ryoko asked, her

tail twitching lightly.

"I got 'Gone With the Wind', a movie called 'Titanic',

and another movie, that I just forgot the name to," she laughed. "I

bought Russ a couple movies too. One of them is called 'Blue

Planet', which looks like an action movie, and the other one is

called 'Titan A.E.', which looks like an action or adventure

movie."

"That's a lot of choices. What do you girls want to see?"

Tenchi said, looking back and forth between Aeka and Ryoko.

"I think I want to see Titan A.E. It sounds cool," Ryoko

suggested.

"I was thinking about Titanic, myself," Aeka added.

"Blue Planet sounds really neat," Tenchi recommended.

All three of them looked at each other in surprise and

laughed, then looked at Sasami. "You pick one of the three movies

we want to see," Aeka demanded. "I don't care which one."

"Why don't you play Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Sasami

asked.

Again, the three looked surprised, but obliged. All three

of them balled up their fist, and shook it three times. Aeka got

paper, both Ryoko and Tenchi got scissors.

"You're out, Aeka!" Sasami giggled and Aeka frowned.

"Now for the tiebreaker!"

Tenchi and Ryoko stared each other down as they balled

up their fists again, and shook them three times. They both picked

scissors again. Raising an eyebrow, Tenchi balled up his fist

again, and Ryoko did the same. They shook their fists three times,

and this time Ryoko picked paper, and Tenchi picked rock.

"Yay! We're going to see Titan A.E.! I'll go make some

popcorn!" Sasami ran inside the house, leaving Ryoko grinning

from ear to ear at Tenchi and Aeka.

"Well, you win. It should be a good movie though, from

what I hear," Tenchi stated, looking over at Ryoko. "Shall we go

inside?"

"Of course. We can't see it sitting out here," Ryoko

grinned, the sarcasm tainting her usually sweet voice.

"Ha, ha. Glad to see your normal sense of humor has

returned," Aeka snickered. Ryoko continued to grin while she

stood up. Aeka and Tenchi both got to their feet, and they all went

into the house together, and sat down at the couch. A few minutes

later, Sasami walked in, carrying a large bowl of buttered popcorn.

Aeka looked over at Russ, while he continued to play his

latest piece. "What's he doing now?"

"Russ is making another song that I can sing to," Sasami

smiled. "He said it was like a rock song, whatever that is."

"Oh? Well, we'll all have to hear it when he finishes. I

wonder if he'd be able to play something that I've got."

Ryoko and Tenchi both looked at her. "What do you

mean, Princess?" Ryoko asked.

"Well, it's not really a song. Just lyrics. It doesn't even

have a title. I had written it a while ago, but never made any music

to go with it."

"Give it to Russ. I'm sure he could come up with

something. So far, he's done some pretty amazing stuff," Tenchi

suggested, gesturing to him, who had his back turned, and was

rocking back and forth in rhythm to the music. The thumping of

the keys was rather noisy, and they could faintly hear the

instruments coming through the headphones.

"He sure plays that loud," Ryoko mentioned. "I can

actually hear it."

"Me too. Oh well. Sasami? Would you do the honors

and start the movie, please?" Tenchi asked, smiling.

"Sure thing!" She got up off the couch and went to the

TV, pulling the cellophane wrapping off of the tape, and putting it

in the VCR. She turned the TV on and picked up the remote, then

returned to her seat on the couch. A few moments later, the

opening previews came up on the screen, which Sasami fast-

forwarded over. She hit the play button when the previews ended

and the movie began. Turning up the sound a little more,

drowning out the thumping of the keys on the organ. She slid up

next to her sister and leaned against her, munching a few kernels of

popcorn, as the opening credits came up on the screen and the

music began to play.

A little over an hour and a half later, the ending credits to

the movie began scrolling up the TV. Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, and

Sasami all stood up and stretched, giving their bodies some much-

needed movement. For the whole movie, they watch with

unwavering interest, really engrossed in the action. Russ had

stolen a couple glances over at them when he was switching

instruments, but they were all watching the screen intently. Even

Aeka, who wasn't into anything much except for soaps and chick

flicks, watched it, hardly ever allowing her eyes to wander.

"Wow! That was an excellent movie!" Tenchi exclaimed.

"I really enjoyed that."

"Yeah, I did too, even though it wasn't my style of

movie," Aeka stated. "He has better taste in movies than I

thought."

"That was really neat. It reminded me of outer space and

the many battles I had fought with patrol craft and police officers,"

Ryoko said, eliciting a stare from Tenchi and Aeka. Sasami just

giggled. "What It's what I used to do. But anyway, that was a

good movie. They had an interesting way of animating that."

"Yeah, I agree. That whole movie, except for the

characters, was animated entirely using computers. I bet Washu

would like this movie and the Blue Planet movie that we got."

"Maybe, maybe not." Aeka looked at the clock on the

wall. "Well, I'm tired. I'm going to turn in for the night. Thank

you for the wonderful gift, you two," she said, giving Tenchi a

hug, and bowing to Ryoko. "See you in the morning."

"I'm going to turn in too," said the little princess. Ryo-

Ohki meowed an agreement and yawned. "See everybody in the

morning."

"Good night, Sasami, Aeka. Have a good night's sleep."

"I'm sure we will, Tenchi." She smiled as she floated up

the stairs, exercising her new ability to fly. She lightly landed on

the floor and looked down, seeing Ryoko's grin and showing one

of her own. She disappeared into the hallway, on her way to the

bedroom. Sasami followed a moment later.

"Well, Ryoko. We sure had a busy day, didn't we?"

"Yeah. It all worked out perfectly. You're so sweet and

kind, Tenchi," she said, grabbing him in a kiss.

"Thanks," he said, after she let him go. "You are too.

Well, anyway, are you ready for bed?"

"Yeah, let's turn in a little early tonight," she said, a little

evil twinkle in her eye and grinning, showing the tips of her fangs.

Her tail twitching increased as well. Tenchi noticed it and a little

sweat beaded on his head.

"Ryoko I hope you're not thinking what I think you're

thinking."

"And what would that be, Tenchi dear?" she said, taking

his arm and kissing him on the cheek.

He shook his head. "Never mind. Let's just go to bed."

They walked upstairs to their bedroom, and went inside. Tenchi

undressed himself, except for his boxer shorts, and slid into the

bed, making sure to turn out the light. Ryoko shed all her clothes,

and floated over him, phasing through the sheets like a phantom,

pressing herself close to him. She wrapped her arms around him

and squeezed, feeling the warmth of his body against hers, and

then started kissing him on his face, slowly working her way down

his neck.

"What are you doing, Ryoko?" he said, not objecting, but

more out of curiosity.

"It's early to go to SLEEP, Tenchi," she purred

seductively, kissing him on the lips.

He broke out in a cold sweat, looking over at her feline

eyes, which were filled with hungry lust, as she continued to kiss

him.

"I don't know if this is such a good idea, Ryoko. We're

not married or anything."

"Not yet, Tenchi. But it's inevitable."

"But still"

"Shhh, stop objecting. I've waited for over a year a

year and a half, to have you Tenchi, all to myself. I can't stand to

wait any more." She whispered into his ear.

He fell silent, and contemplated the idea. He had the

desire as well; since he had the most beautiful woman he had ever

laid eyes on, in bed next to him. Here was a woman who loved

him, and wanted to be with him for the rest of her life. She was

willing to die for him, and to die with him. Her love for him was

downright obsessive and almost scary, but it was one of the most

comforting feelings he had ever felt.

Resolving his conflict, he looked at Ryoko, who looked

back at him with her golden, kitten eyes, pleading, and he smiled,

kissing her on the lips and pulling her close. He ran his fingers

through her soft, cyan hair and caressed her face, looking into her

eyes with acceptance.

"Oooh, Tenchi," she moaned, kissing him once again, and

squeezing him tightly. "Prepare to be plundered," she whispered.

"You're all mine, tonight." She kissed his cheek. "And if you try

to run away," she said, balling up her fist in front of his face,

baring her fangs, "you're going to get it."

"I'm all yours, Ryoko. Always, and forever," he

whispered.

They both lost something that night, besides a good

night's sleep, and gained a whole lot more.

Aeka lay on her futon, feeling tired, but not able to fall

asleep just yet. She reflected on the events that day, and how it

turned out so well. Even her argument with Russ felt good.

Feeling that he probably didn't mean anything that he said to her,

made her feel even better. She reached up to her neck and fingered

the gold phoenix that hung on the chain, sighed, and smiled. It was

the absolute perfect gift anyone has ever given her. The meaning

behind it was a landslide of emotion, and all of it was positive and

good. She thought about both Tenchi and Ryoko and them being

together, but now, it didn't seem so bad. They both still cared for

her, deeply, and they showed that to her today.

"Aeka? Are you still awake?" Sasami whispered.

"Yeah," she quietly answered. "What is it?"

"How do you feel, right now?"

"I feel" she thought a moment to describe how she

really felt. "Wonderful. I feel so happy and fulfilled right now. I

feel really, really good."

A soft sigh was heard from Sasami's futon. "I'm so glad

everything worked out so well today."

"Yeah, you and me both, Sasami. Even fighting with that

big, dumb barbarian called Russ was fun. I haven't done that in a

very long time. It felt really good to release those pent up

frustrations."

Sasami giggled. "You two were acting like a couple of

kids my age, today. It was really funny to watch, but I was

worried too. I'm glad you two didn't start blowing up the mall or

anything."

"Sasami!" Aeka sat up and glared at her sister. "I would

do no such thing."

"Oh yes you would." She giggled even harder.

"Remember that time when we went to go visit Kiyone and

Mihoshi at their first apartment? You and Ryoko got into a fight

and nearly blew the place apart."

"Uhhh That was a long time ago, Sasami. I've matured

since then." She lay back down, staring up at the ceiling, her face

flushed hot from embarrassment.

"Okay." Silence ensued for a few minutes. "Aeka?"

"Yes?"

"Can you tell me a bedtime story?"

"Yeah, I can do that for you." She thought a few

moments, and then settled on one of her old favorites.

Sasami fell asleep before she finished the story, but she

finished it anyway. She turned over in her bed, now lying on her

side, touching the pendant once more before drifting off to sleep

herself.

Mihoshi and Kiyone both came into the house through the

sliding glass door. The only illumination that was provided was by

the organ lamp that Russ had turned on, as he continued to work on

the music he was composing. They were both tired out from

working on their new patrol craft, but it had been worth it. All the

controls were now configured to something Kiyone found very

efficient, and Mihoshi was very happy to have a large TV in the

crew quarters. They both checked over the entire ship and made

certain that everything was in perfect, working order. The shields,

weapons, propulsion system, and all essential systems were

checked, and came out in perfect shape.

"Oh man, I'm beat. I'm glad we have tomorrow off too,"

Kiyone groaned as she trudged her way up the stairs to her room.

"I don't know why you're so tired, Kiyone!"

She turned and glared at her partner. "If you did

something besides sleep the entire time, I wouldn't be as tired and

you would be ready for bed! We could've been done in half the

time if you moved your lazy butt!"

"Shhh! You'll wake everyone up!" Mihoshi hissed.

Kiyone's stern resolve melted away into drowsiness.

"I'm going to bed. I'm beat."

"Yeah, I guess I should go to bed too." Mihoshi followed

her partner into the bedroom and plopped herself down on her

futon, not bothering to turn on a light. She quickly undressed and

slid under the covers.

"Tomorrow, we should look for another apartment to

move into. I'm tired of being a burden to the Masaki home,"

Kiyone muttered, as she slid under the sheets.

"I don't think we're that big of a burden. We're really not

here all that much."

"But still The thought of living off of someone drives

me crazy. I feel like a teenager rather than a grown woman out on

her own."

"That's silly, Kiyone. They offered to take us into their

home."

"But it's not like me to take advantage of it for so long!"

She yawned, stretching out and getting settled in. "Oh, we'll argue

about this in the morning. I'm too tired right now."

"Okay. Good night, Kiyone."

"See you in the morning, Mihoshi."

Both Galaxy Police officers fell asleep only a few minutes

later.

Russ had just finished creating the music for his new

song. He stood up and stretched as his back, neck, and shoulders

popped from being still for so long. Groaning softly, he sat down

at the organ again, and played back the music once more, making

sure it was flawless. Hitting a few keys, he saved his work onto a

floppy disk, and turned off the organ and the lamp. Quietly

floating up to his bedroom, he slid open the door and turned on the

light, squinting from the sudden brightness. He sat down at the

desk and pulled out a sheet of paper that was in one of the drawers,

and a pencil, then began to write the lyrics that would go with his

song. He would present them to Sasami tomorrow morning for her

to learn and memorize.

"Tomorrow is going to be a fun day," he thought to

himself. That is, until a rumble of thunder came in from the

outside.

"Oh great. Rain. Oh well. At least it'll cool things off a

bit," he muttered to himself as he got up and opened his window,

letting the cooler air into his room. "I need a fan or something.

It's too quiet in this house. I'll have to go to my ship tomorrow

and get mine." He returned to the desk and sat down, humming

the song to himself has he continued writing the lyrics down on the

paper.

After a half hour, he dozed off, bonking his head on the

desk and rousing him back out of slumber. He looked at the paper

in front of him, and smiled, since he was now finished. He stood

up and turned out the light to the room, discarded all of his clothes

onto the floor except for his briefs, and plopped onto the bed,

falling asleep almost instantly, as the sound of the soothing rain

from the outside lulled him into a deep slumber.

Washu was in her lab, drawing up the plans for the new

bathroom Aeka had asked for. After they had left the video store,

she asked her if she'd make a bathroom inside the house, just for

the girls. Aeka had said that it was inconvenient to walk outside to

the onsen, just to take a bath. It was really inconvenient when it

rained, because as soon as you got out of the place, you had to run

back into the house, getting soaked the whole time. Washu had

agreed, and set to work.

After a few hours planning, she had finished, and fell

asleep just as she finished inputting the plans into her computer.

Several cushions automatically appeared under her, catching her

before she hit the floor, and allowed her a peaceful night's

slumber. She fell asleep with a smile on her lips, dreaming of

pleasant memories long ago, but not forgotten.


	9. Chapter 9

Ep 9 Road Trip

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real

attempt at a fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi

TV) and the OVA so most of the main characters you've seen from

there will appear here as well. It also crosses a bit with Dragonball

Z with the existence of Dragonballs and immensely powerful

warriors. Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to be together, and

Aeka is still living at the house for now. You'll see when it

happens. Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right

to the story. Enjoy! Send all hate mail / fan mail to

.

*Note: New website going up for the Tenchi fans! Visit it at

.net The fanfic will be posted there too.

Rain. It is the lifeblood of the Earth. It's the one thing

that sustains every living organism that exists on this blue planet.

Without it, things could not survive, and the planet would become

a barren wasteland, with its only value being the minerals that exist

below the Earth's surface.

It was currently raining outside of the Masaki home in a

gentle shower, replenishing the ground with water and giving the

plants and animals a much-needed drink. It also managed to cool

the outdoor temperature down to a pleasant sixty-five degrees,

making it feel very comfortable, and bringing needed relief from

the freak weather of the previous day. Usually accompanying a

rainfall, a feeling of sadness or depression dampens a person's

spirits for the day. This was not the case for the Masaki

household.

Stirring slightly from her night of blissful slumber, Ryoko

snuggled a little closer to Tenchi, resting her head on his chest, and

listening to the soft beating of his heart. This heart beats for her,

now and forever. It was more soothing than whatever emotion she

had ever felt in her entire life, and it was one thing that she was

never going to let go of, or have taken away from her. Her destiny

lay with him and to always be with him. The love she has for him

is total and absolute, no matter what circumstance presents itself.

It was the one thing that had made her truly happy, and it was now

hers. All hers.

When Ryoko had moved, she gently woke Tenchi out of

his sleep. He opened his eyes slowly, trying to become

accustomed to the dim light that filtered through his bedroom

window and the skylight above his bed. Slowly bringing his mind

and eyes into focus, he looked down toward the warm feeling on

his chest, where Ryoko laid her head, with her arms wrapped

around him. He smiled to himself and thought about the previous

night, and how he had finally allowed his true feelings for her to

unlock themselves from his heart and pour forth, like a raging river

through a canyon. It was a night that he'd never forget, and it was

one that he wanted to cherish forever.

He thought about the many times she had expressed her

love for him, but he was too afraid to return it. He had loved

Ryoko for a long time, but he didn't know when he first started to.

It was just too impossible to tell when he began to feel how he did

toward her. But it didn't really matter anymore. She was here,

now, with him, quietly dozing, as he listened to her soft, rhythmic

breathing.

Tenchi's smile increased in size, as he took in a deep

breath and let out a quiet yawn. Ryoko moaned very softly. He

reached down, being very careful and gentle, he ran his fingers

through her cyan hair, enjoying the feel of its softness. He reached

up and did it again, as a very soft rumble started to come from her.

He grinned and felt very contented, and a little amused that she

was quietly purring beside him.

Trying to increase the intensity of her soft rumble, he

continued to pet her, now running his hand down her back, gently

scratching around her shoulder blades. As expected, her rumbling

increased in volume and intensity, as she took in a deep breath.

Her kitten eyes opened themselves slowly, as she stretched herself

out and let out a light yawn. Her gaze wandered up Tenchi's chest,

and finally locked into his eyes, filled with love, contentedness,

and happiness. She smiled, ever so sweetly, as she carefully

moved herself up to Tenchi's shoulder, and kissed him on the lips.

"Good morning, lover," she whispered, continuing to

softly purr for him.

"Hello, Ryoko," he returned, wrapping his arm around

her, pulling her a little closer, and giving her a little kiss. "Did you

sleep well?"

She moaned softly and smiled, returning his embrace.

"Thank you," she said, quietly.

"What for?" Tenchi continued to gaze at her soft

complexion, smiling into those golden eyes.

"For finally telling me and showing me how much you

love me last night. That was the best thing that has ever happened

to me." She squeezed him tighter, kissing him again. "I love you,

Tenchi."

He smiled down at her, and felt a small lump in his throat,

but he did his best to swallow it down. "I love you too, Ryoko," he

said, as a tidal wave of relief washed over his body and soul.

Yes! He had done it! He finally gathered up the courage

to tell her he loved her, and mean it, with all of his heart. It felt so

good to finally be able to tell her the words he had felt, but was too

afraid to say. Ryoko had no idea how much those words struck

home with her, until she finally heard them for herself. A

happiness that words could not describe cascaded through her

heart, giving her a feeling of unsurpassed peace and tranquility.

After a year and a half of pursuing, a year and a half of begging,

tears, pleas, fights, and hardships, it all finally came down to those

three little words, which he finally told her, after so long.

She took in a deep breath, savoring that little phrase, and

locking it into her heart. "Ohhh, Tenchi," she moaned, sensually.

"Say that again," she begged, looking into his face. "Please."

"I love you, Ryoko. More than words can say."

The tears started streaming down her cheeks as she kissed

him, hard, almost as if she was trying to suck out his soul and

make it her own. Tenchi looked at her, almost in shock after she

released him.

"Ryoko? What's the matter?" he asked in worry. "Did I

do something wrong?"

She gazed back into his brown eyes lovingly as the tears

continued to flow freely, and shook her head. "No. You did

everything right. I love you so much, Tenchi. More than even you

yourself realize."

He gently clasped her cheek in his hand, using his thumb

to tenderly wipe away her tears. She closed her eyes and took his

hand in hers, rubbing her cheek in his palm, as she sniffled quietly.

After a moment, she carefully removed his hand from her face and

opened her eyes, pulling herself closer to him, then gave him

another kiss, which he wholeheartedly returned, squeezing her

tightly. Her tears subsided a moment later, and she continued to

smile for him.

"I love you very much, Ryoko. I just wish I had the

courage to tell you that sooner."

"Shhh," she chided him. "Just hold me for a while. I

want to savor every waking moment with you." She rested her

head on the pillow next to Tenchi, only a few inches away from his

face. He rolled onto his side to face her, returning her gaze, which

was bursting with overwhelming love and happiness. They both

gently caressed each other, allowing their hands to softly roam

each other, feeling each other's warmth, both of them ignoring the

passage of time and the sound of the raindrops that continually

pelted the windowsill outside of his bedroom window.

"I wish this moment would last forever, Tenchi."

"I do too, Ryoko." He continued to softly pet her, and her

him, as the minutes ticked by, but was ignored by the two lovers.

Out of nowhere, Tenchi's stomach croaked quietly, but

not quietly enough. They both stopped and stared at each other,

before they both burst out in a fit of the giggles.

"I guess it's time for breakfast," he said, stealing a glance

at the clock on his nightstand. He turned back toward her, smiling

broadly. "Are you hungry?"

Before she had the opportunity to answer, her own

stomach rumbled a response, drowning out her soft purring. She

blushed lightly, and then started giggling again. "Does that answer

your question?" she asked, smiling, as the sound of her

contentedness once again became the only sound in the bedroom.

"Do you want to get up and get some breakfast with me?"

Sighing tenderly, she nodded her head.

He chuckled softly. "Okay then," he said, giving her

another quick peck in the lips, then letting go of her and sliding

himself out from under the warm covers and into the coolness of

his room. Casually moving over to his dresser, he pulled out a

clean pair of boxer shorts and put them on. After that, he went to

his closet and picked out a new pair of shorts and one of the new

shirts they bought yesterday at the mall, and dressed, taking care to

cut the tags off the shirt and shorts.

Looking back toward the bed after he was finished, he

saw that she was sitting on top of the covers, dressed in a pretty

pink blouse, which covered her whole body. He smiled and looked

her over, noticing that the pink brought out the gold in her eyes,

but contrasted nicely with her cyan hair.

"You look even more beautiful today than you ever did,

Ryoko," he said, slowly moving to the bed and offering her his

hand with a humble little bow.

She smiled and giggled, graciously accepting his

invitation, floating off of the bed and standing up on the floor.

"You're going to spoil me now, is that it?"

"You don't like being spoiled?" he asked, smiling at her

gorgeous face.

"I think I can get used to it," she said, wrapping her arms

around her treasure and kissing him tenderly.

Once again, both their stomachs growled at both of them,

reminding them that they were hungry and wanted food. Now.

And they didn't want to wait anymore. They both looked at each

other and giggled lightly as they left the room to go eat breakfast.

Aeka slowly awakened to the soothing, quiet pelting of

the rain against her window. Moaning softly, she unconsciously

stretched herself out under her blanket, rolling onto her back, and

took in a deep breath, letting it out in a refreshing yawn. Her violet

eyes slowly opened themselves, adjusting themselves to the light

coming in through her bedroom window. She smiled to herself,

since in a very good mood this morning, despite the depressing

rain outside her window. Looking over at the vacant futon next to

her, she realized Sasami must have gotten up a little while ago and

started on breakfast for everybody. Not one to disappoint, she

tossed back her covers, feeling the coolness of the air rush to her

skin, giving her small goose bumps. Thankful that today wasn't

another scorcher, she got up and went to her closet and chose a red

kimono and a violet sash, tossing those onto her futon, and

withdrew a white undershirt from her closet, adding that to the

pile. Taking care to remove her nightgown and hang it up, she

dressed herself in the clothes she picked, and admired herself in the

bedroom mirror. Noticing the glitter under her clothes, her smile

broadened, as she looked at the small phoenix that hung around her

neck, the gift from Tenchi and Ryoko.

That gift was the best thing she has ever gotten from

anybody in her entire life. Sure, it wasn't no where near the

craftsmanship, or quality, or even the monetary value of the other

gifts she was given during her marriage meetings, but the meaning

behind it was worth so much more. "It means a sign of

unsurpassed beauty," Tenchi had told her. She smiled even

broader, knowing that Tenchi still thought she was very beautiful.

The fact that he was with Ryoko didn't matter anymore, because

he still cared about her and her feelings. Even Ryoko did as well,

and it filled her with pride and almost indescribable happiness that

her former worst enemy would choose a gift like that to give her.

And then there was Russ, who even though behaved like a

child yesterday, was still considerate enough to buy her those two

videos that she was going to get for herself. In a way, she missed

having fights like that with Ryoko. Even though yesterday's fight

was not physical, it still felt good to behave like a stuck up little

child once again. It had been nearly a year since she had fought

like that, and it felt really good, and it relaxed her considerably.

Knowing she didn't mean any harm yesterday, and assuming Russ

didn't either, made her feel at peace. He was a nice man, and so

far had shown that he cares about other people's feelings, and that

was important to her. A man who cares about nothing except for

himself is very selfish, and she wanted no part of a person like that.

She noticed that Russ was quite different from other men

she had met before, even Tenchi, but he had a charm all his own.

He had incredible strength and power, but never used it, unless he

was training himself or someone needed his help. Even with his

enormous ability to create death and destruction, he didn't seem to

want to do stuff like that, but rather prevent it. He had a wonderful

talent for music, and was remarkably humble, always thanking

people and never bragging about his abilities to others. On top of

all that, he was quite handsome, albeit not as handsome as Tenchi.

Satisfied that her appearance was adequate, she left her

room and went downstairs, seeing Tenchi and Ryoko on the couch,

gazing into each other's faces which were filled with love and

something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on. But

anyway, it was none of her business, so she smiled as she made her

way downstairs.

"Good morning, Ryoko and Tenchi. You guys look like

you're in a good mood today," she said cheerfully, filled with

happiness herself.

"Good morning, Aeka. You look like you're in a good

mood yourself," Ryoko answered, as Tenchi turned toward the

princess.

"Hi, Aeka. Did you sleep well?" he asked with a big

smile.

"Yes! I'm both in a good mood and I had a wonderful

night's rest. The rain really helps me sleep since it drowns out

most other noises in the house."

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Ryoko said, eyeing Tenchi

mischievously. He ignored it though, much to her disappointment.

"Well, I'm going to go see if Sasami needs any help," he

said, making her way to the kitchen, where the sounds of pots and

pans scraping over the stove could be heard. A quiet humming

was also noticed coming through the door. She took a quick

glance around the room. "Where's Russ? Isn't he up yet?"

"No, not yet. At least, I don't think so. I haven't seen

him this morning," Tenchi answered.

"Hmmm." Aeka went into the kitchen were Sasami was

busy as a bee at the stove.

She turned away from stirring the miso soup when she

heard the kitchen door slide open. "Good morning, Aeka!" she

said in her usual, cheerful demeanor, running up to her sister and

giving her a warm hug.

"Good morning, Sasami. You look well rested and happy

today."

"Yes I am. I don't know why though. It's raining, which

means I can't go outside and play, but I feel good anyway."

Ryo-Ohki, perched on top of the little girl's head,

meowed her greeting to Aeka.

"And good morning to you too, Ryo-Ohki," she giggled,

petting the cabbit on the head, eliciting a light purr from her.

"Well, can I help you with anything in here, Sasami?"

"Not really. I've just about finished off everything. I'm

just waiting for the miso to finish cooking and then breakfast will

be ready. If you want, you can carry out these plates to the table.

That will be helpful to me," she offered, smiling sweetly.

"Okay." She reached into one of the drawers and drew

out a handful of chopsticks, and picked up one of the many plates

that were on the counter, being careful not to spill anything. She

went back into the living room and saw that Nobuyuki was now

awake, and was busily pounding Tenchi on the back, who's face

was as red as the kimono she was wearing.

"It's about time, Tenchi! I'm so proud to know that

you've finally grown up into a healthy man!" He continued

slapping him on the back, and then gave him a crushing hug.

"Daaaaaaaad! Cut that out! It's embarrassing! And how

did you know anyway?" he choked out, just before his dad released

him. Ryoko was smiling broadly, clearly pleased with Nobuyuki's

reaction.

"I'm just so proud, son! It would've been great if you let

me videotape it! I always wanted to record your development in

life! I had gotten up late last night to go to the bathroom and I had

heard you two in your room," he said, tears in his eyes. "I was

going to record it, but I decided that I should leave you alone for

your first time."

Both Tenchi and Ryoko stared at him. Ryoko thought it

would have been fun, and Tenchi thought it was the craziest thing

he ever heard. And what was he doing, eavesdropping on them?

Aeka set the food down on the table, thinking about what

Nobuyuki had said, as she returned to the kitchen to gather up the

rest of the food. "grown up to be a healthy man" Where did

she hear that before? Suddenly, it clicked. They were all sitting

around the table, shortly after she had arrived on Earth to rescue

Mihoshi. They were all eating breakfast, and out of nowhere,

Ryoko started babbling about pickles and ice cream. Nobuyuki

picked up on it and asked if she was pregnant. Shortly thereafter,

Ryoko raced out of the room and apparently had given birth to an

egg. But the killer was when she told everybody that it was the

egg that she had made with Tenchi. Nobuyuki went crazy with

pride, slapping Tenchi on the shoulders in much the same manner

as he was currently doing, and he had said nearly the same exact

thing. Does that mean Tenchi and Ryoko made a baby? No.

It's too soon for that. But maybe they made love last night?

Yes, that has to be it. What else could or would spark THAT kind

of reaction out of Tenchi's father, the resident pervert of the

house?

She looked up at both of them, as they gazed into each

other's eyes. Tenchi felt another pair of eyes on him as she

glanced over the couch, directly into Aeka's face. Ryoko noticed

his appearance, and she too turned to look at Aeka. She looked

back at them, and smiled. "Congratulations, you two. I'm very

happy for the both of you."

Tenchi, Ryoko, and Nobuyuki all facefaulted straight to

the floor in shock. They slowly recovered and looked back at

Aeka, who was still smiling broadly, and she nodded her head.

"Aeka?" Tenchi began.

"Don't worry, Tenchi. I'm fine with it. I've known for a

long time that you two would eventually begin doing that kind of

thing, and I'm happy for the both of you. Really." And she was,

too.

Both Tenchi and Ryoko heaved a huge sigh of relief, and

they both smiled at her. "Thank you for being so understanding,

Aeka. That means a lot to me," Ryoko said, nodding her head at

her.

"That goes for me too, Aeka. Thank you."

"Think nothing of it. And I mean it when I say,

congratulations." She bowed toward them. "I'll be right back with

the rest of breakfast. I hope you're good and hungry!" Turning to

go back into the kitchen, she looked over her shoulder and flashed

them another smile, and disappeared through the doorway. She let

out a huge sigh of relief, and it felt really good to finally be at

peace with both of them. It was over between her and Tenchi, and

there was no need to fret over it any longer, and it felt good to

finally reach that point.

Sasami turned around when her sister re-entered. "What

was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing, Sasami. I'll tell you about it when you're

older," she informed her, smiling.

"Darn it! You're always saying that. And judging by the

way father was acting, I have a pretty good guess at what went on

between Tenchi and Ryoko last night. But I must say, I'm happy

you're taking it so well," she said, hugging her sister again. "It

makes me happy to see everybody else happy. I don't want to see

anybody fight anymore. And now it seems that nobody has to."

Aeka sighed. "You may be little, but you sure don't act

like it sometimes," she said, patting her sister's shoulder. "Come

on, let's get breakfast out to the table. Everybody's starving."

"Yes, you're right. The miso is done. Go ahead and take

these two plates out there, and I'll get the rest. Thank you, Aeka."

She turned off the burner to the stove and poured the soup into a

large bowl, and then she fished a ladle out of one of the drawers

and put that alongside it. She carefully lifted the soup bowl, and

being careful not to spill it, she followed Aeka out to the breakfast

table, where Nobuyuki, Ryoko, Tenchi, and Aeka were all seated.

"Where are Kiyone, Mihoshi, Washu, and Russ?" Sasami

asked, looking at the vacant seats.

"Well, Washu is probably busy in her lab as usual,

Kiyone and Mihoshi went out to look for an apartment nearby, and

Russ well, I have no idea about him," Tenchi informed her.

"I wonder if he's a sleepy head like you are, Tenchi,"

Sasami teased. "I guess I'll just have to play a little prank on him,"

she giggled evilly as she got up from the table.

"Sasami! What are you doing?" Aeka looked at her

sister in horror.

She cackled sinisterly as she disappeared into the kitchen

and returned with a can of whipped cream. Glancing over at her

sister with an evil gleam in her eye, she quietly ascended the

stairway, heading toward Russ' room. Aeka rolled her eyes and

started giggling.

"He's going to get it. Sasami is the king of pranks here,"

Ryoko giggled. "Not even I can match what she does."

"I know. Give her a reason to pull a prank and you're

history," Aeka said, still giggling quietly as she began sipping her

soup. "Oh, listen to me. I shouldn't encourage behavior like that."

"Hopefully Russ will be a good sport about it," Tenchi

said, worriedly.

"I'm sure he will be," Aeka responded. "Remember

yesterday at the mall?"

Tenchi and Ryoko both started laughing. "Yeah, that was

quite amusing. Did you feel better after that?" Tenchi asked.

"Yeah, actually. It felt good to behave like that again. It

gets boring acting so uptight and regal all the time. It was a nice

distraction from the ordinary."

"Well anyway, Sasami should be in Russ' room by now.

Let's wait and see what happens," Tenchi snickered.

Russ was sprawled over the top of his bed, lying on his

chest with his arm dangling over the edge closest to the doorway.

The window to his room was open, but the rain was falling in a

way that it didn't enter the house. His head lay on the pillow, but

he never slid himself under the blankets. He was still clothed in

the garments he had on from yesterday, except they were not

covering him very well. The shirt was bunched up near his chest,

leaving his abs and his lower back exposed, and his shorts were

hitched up in such a way that it was giving him a wedgie. He was

trying to breathe through his nose, but as usual, it was clogged, and

he wound up drawing in loud, raspy breaths through his mouth.

Sasami quietly slid back the door to his room and stepped

inside, spying Russ on the bed. She stopped and froze, and had to

calm herself down to keep from laughing at his posture. Tiptoeing

over to his bed, she shook up the can of whipped cream and

squirted a healthy amount into his hand that was dangling over the

edge. Satisfied that there was plenty, she looked around the room

for something to tickle his nose with. Unfortunately, there was

nothing that would work, so she improvised. She silently moved

behind the headboard and bent down, gently blowing a stream of

air into his face. He wrinkled his nose in response and stirred

slightly, but immediately resumed his heavy slumber. Determined,

she blew a little harder into his face, which invoked the same

response.

"Geez, what's he made out of? Stone?" she muttered to

herself, trying to keep from giggling. She took in a deeper breath

and again blew directly into his face, and this time it had the

desired effect. He brought his hand up and smacked it right into

his visage, spreading the whipped cream everywhere. Sasami

couldn't contain herself anymore and she exploded laughing,

rousing Russ out of his sleep.

Not totally awake, but moderately aware that someone

was laughing at him, Russ removed his hand from his face, which

felt very strange. He closed his hand and felt something very soft

and cool squish between his fingers. Slowly opening up his eyes,

he looked into his hand, which was now covered in white froth.

Changing his focus over to the sound of laughing that stood near

the door, he could see Sasami holding a can of whipped cream.

Looking back to his hand, he stuck a finger into his mouth and

confirmed his suspicions. He slowly sat up and reached up with

his other hand, making sure that it was clean, and wiped the

remaining whipped cream off of his face, licking up what he

missed. He then cleaned off his other hand and stood up, now

wide-awake.

"Ha! Ha! It's breakfast time! Come and get it before it

gets cold," she laughed before racing out of the room. He charged

out the door, hot on her heels.

"You do realize, this means war!" he shouted after her,

chasing her down the stairs. She raced behind the couch as Russ

tore into the kitchen. He returned a moment later with a can of

whipped cream of his own. He quickly began shaking it and

removed the top. "Come here. I've got a present for yah!"

He began to circle the couch as Sasami giggled

uncontrollably, still shaking her own can of the stuff and making

sure to stay out of reach. Everybody at the table exploded

laughing, watching Russ and Sasami square off. "So, you're a

little prankster, aren't you? I must inform you, that you're totally

outclassed," he cackled evilly, slowly inching his way around the

sofa. "If you want a prank war, you're on!" He leapt over the

couch as Sasami tore around the table and hid behind Aeka, still

giggling away. Aeka, on the other hand, got a look of worry on

her face as Russ approached the opposite end of the table, and

began slowly circling again.

"Okay, that's enough you two. Don't make a mess,

okay?" Aeka said. "I'm trying to enjoy my breakfast here."

"She started it," Russ protested, but decided he was

hungry when he saw all the food. "Okay, Sasami, you win this

one, but I'll get you back. You can bet on it." He grinned, giving

her one of the most sinister looks he could muster. He replaced the

cap on his can of whipped cream and returned it to the kitchen,

then emerged a moment later and took his seat next to Aeka.

Sasami sat on the opposite side of her sister, continuing to giggle.

He looked at her, continuing to give an evil little grin as he picked

up a bowl and filled it with rice, which he consumed in a few

seconds. Filling the same bowl with the miso soup, he swallowed

it all almost in one gulp.

Eyeing Sasami, who was also watching him out of the

corner of her eye, he covertly picked up a grain of rice that was

stuck to his bowl, placed it between his fingers, and flicked it at

her behind Aeka's back. Sasami noticed it, and gave him her own

little evil grin, as she discretely picked up her own rice grain and

flung it at him, again behind Aeka's back. Russ saw it coming, so

he reached up, faster than the eye could see and grabbed it before it

hit him, and then returned his hand to where it was. Sasami stared

at him, dumbfounded, since she couldn't see where the rice grain

went. Russ started snickering like crazy, drawing Aeka's attention.

"What's so funny?"

Ryoko and Tenchi were both giggling and chuckling

lightly, which irked Aeka even more.

"What is so funny?" she asked again, becoming more

confused by the minute.

Her inquisitive look only served to get everybody at the

table laughing even harder. Aeka shrugged her shoulders and went

back to eating. Russ took the grain of rice that he grabbed from

Sasami and flung it across the table at Ryoko, which hit her in the

cheek. Her face went to surprise, and her smile turned evil, as she

flung her own grain of rice across the table, which nailed Russ

right on the nose. Since he was now focused on Ryoko, Sasami

flung another grain of rice at Russ, nailing him in the side of the

head. He cocked an eyebrow at both of them as Tenchi was doing

his best to control himself and keep from laughing out loud.

Sasami, Ryoko, and Russ all looked at him with an evil

gleam in their eyes, as they all opened fire with rice grains, pelting

him in the head. Aeka saw that and looked harshly at all three of

them.

"Stop that right now! You're behaving like children," she

said sternly, as she glared at her sister. Unbeknownst to her, she

labeled herself as a target. When she returned to eating her

breakfast, Russ looked at the three of them and gave a very slight

nod, grinning evilly. Tenchi, Ryoko, Russ, and Sasami all loaded

their fingers with rice grains and flung them all at Aeka, who was

pelted from all sides. She looked up in total surprise as she glared

at all four of the participants. Somehow, Nobuyuki managed to

slip away during this little fiasco, sensing that something was

going to happen.

Fed up with their little game, she picked up her rice bowl

and dumped the entire contents over Russ' head. He sat there in

complete shock, as did everybody else, as Aeka grinned

triumphantly at him.

"Serves you right for behaving so immaturely," she

declared.

Suddenly, he started laughing really hard, as he reached

up and brushed some of the rice off of his head.

"FOOD FIGHT!" he roared, as he reached over to the

serving bowl, grabbed a heaping handful of rice grains, and shoved

them right in Aeka's face, making the ball of rice explode

everywhere. Everybody exploded laughing, except for Aeka, who

was now extremely red in the face and trembling with anger. She

reached over and picked up a handful of rice and tried to return the

favor, but Russ opened his mouth up real wide and caught the

clump of rice, chewing and swallowing in a few seconds. He

grinned widely and stuck out his tongue.

"Missed me," he taunted, picking up another handful of

rice and throwing it at Sasami, who was rolling around on the

floor, laughing. He nailed her in the side, making the rice grains

go everywhere.

Total chaos ensued from that point. Everybody reached

in toward the middle of the table in an attempt to grab whatever

food they could get their hands on, picking targets and flinging the

food at everyone else. The fight lasted another few minutes until

they ran out of ammunition, but everybody, even Aeka, were

laughing heartily. Ryo-Ohki had managed to hide behind the

couch during the entire fiasco, so she emerged unscathed. It was

just at that moment when Washu decided to come out of her lab.

She stopped, stared, and then facefaulted.

"What HAPPENED in here?" she exclaimed while

looking at the huge mess they created.

"We ate breakfast, what else did you expect?" Russ said

casually, through his constant snickering. Aeka, Tenchi, Ryoko

and Sasami all looked at Washu innocently, as she continued to

stare dumbfounded.

"You guys had a food fight, and DIDN'T INVITE ME?"

she yelled, now laughing along with them. "Oh man, what a

mess," she said, trying to navigate around the war zone, trying to

make her way toward the kitchen. "Looks like you kids had fun.

Sasami? Did you save me anything?"

The little blue haired princess sat up, trying to catch her

breath from laughing so hard. "Y... yes," she panted. "It's in its

usual place in the fridge."

"Thank you, Sasami. Oh, by the way, I finished the

bathroom. Just go over there," she instructed, pointing down the

hallway to the bathroom. "When a woman opens the door, it goes

to the women's bath. When a guy opens the door, it opens to the

normal bathroom. I took the onsen down that was over the lake, so

that's all taken care of." Receiving her acknowledgement, she

disappeared into the kitchen.

"Whew! Now I haven't had that much fun in years!"

Russ said, taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a contented

sigh.

Everybody nodded. "Yes, I have to agree, even though it

was extremely childish," Aeka stated, picking some of the rice

grains off of her kimono and hair.

"For a minute I thought you were going to kill all of us,"

Russ said, smiling. "I'm glad you loosened up and had a little

fun."

"Yeah, no kidding. I always told you to stop being so

uptight, princess," Ryoko agreed, trying to clean herself off a little.

"But that was a lot of fun."

"Yeah, but now we have to clean this mess," Tenchi

groaned, as she surveyed the disaster. "It is going to take forever

to get this place spotless again."

"Not really. If we all work together, we can have this

place cleaned up in no time," Russ said, standing up and shaking

off his clothes. Everybody else looked at him, smiled and stood

up, then tried to clean themselves off as best they could. "Well,

shall we get busy?"

"Yeah," they all said in unison, as Russ picked up all the

dirty dishes and stacked them neatly in a pile. Tenchi retrieved the

vacuum and Aeka grabbed the broom and dustpan, while Ryoko

fetched the feather duster. Sasami and Russ carried the dirty

dishes into the kitchen and started cleaning them up, while

everybody else set to work cleaning the living room.

Washu continued to watch them, smiling widely, as she

thought about some of the fun times she used to have. Deciding

that they'd be okay, she disappeared back into her lab, carrying her

breakfast with her.

A half hour later, they finished cleaning up the house, and

then dispersed to do some activities to pass the time. Sasami sat

down in front of the TV and fired up the playstation, tossing in a

fighting game as Ryo-Ohki transformed into her child form. She

picked up the second controller and meowed a challenge to

Sasami, which she readily accepted. Tenchi went up to his room to

continue his drawing that he was working on a few days ago, and

Ryoko tried to doze off on his bed. Aeka picked up a cookbook

and started reading some recipes that looked rather appetizing.

Russ returned to his room and fetched the lyrics for the song he

completed last night.

He came back downstairs just as Sasami defeated Ryo-

Ohki in their little contest. "Sasami?"

She and the cabbit turned around. "Yeah? What is it?"

Russ waved the sheet of paper in the air. "I finished the

lyrics for the song last night. Here they are," he said, presenting it

to her.

"Oh wow! Cool!" She accepted the paper and looked at

it, but her face quickly became a frown.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't read it," she said, looking up at him. "I'm sorry."

"Oh! I didn't know you couldn't read roman characters.

No problem. Come along with me and I'll read the lyrics to you,

so you can write them down in Kanji."

"Okay, that'll work. Where do you want to go?"

"Lets go back to my room. At least there will be some

privacy there," he said, starting back up the stairs and motioning

for her to follow. She hesitated slightly, but followed anyway,

against her better judgment. He noticed her hesitation though.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything," he said, looking over

his shoulder. "Yet," he added with an evil cackle. She stopped in

her tracks and looked at him fearfully. "Aw, come on. Seriously, I

won't do anything. I promise."

"Okay, if you say so."

She and Ryo-Ohki followed him to his room and he shut

the door behind them. "Okay," he began, sitting down on the bed.

"Take out a piece of paper from the drawer on your right, and take

one of the pencils or pens that you'll find in the middle drawer."

She did as she was told. "Now, write down what I say in the form

I tell you. It'll help keep rhythm."

"Okay." She hunched over the desk, getting ready to

write down what he said.

"Now, the first line is"

About fifteen minutes later they finished, and Sasami was

smiling widely. "This is a great song! I can't wait to hear the

music that goes with it!"

"Well, you want to go do it right now?"

"Could you? Please?" she begged.

"Sure. Let's go," he said, making his way toward the

door. Her smile could've crushed the most depressed mood

anyone would've had.

All three of them made their way downstairs and Russ

took a seat at the organ. He turned it on and loaded up the song

into the computer, then turned toward Sasami, who was standing

nearby. "I'll sing the song to the music first, so you'll know how it

goes. Then you can sing it. You can go take a seat on the couch or

pull up a chair. You don't have to stand there."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She walked over to the

couch and sat down, still holding her sheet of paper. "You can

sing too?"

Russ put his own copy on top of the organ and read

through it once more, hoping he'd get it right the first time.

"Somewhat. I'm not that good. But anyway here goes nothing,"

he said, as he hit the play and record buttons on the computer. All

he had left to add was the piano portion of the song, and he

decided to do that now. He began playing the piano, and began to

sing to the song titled, "I'm a Pioneer."

[In Japanese]

Did you know I am a Pioneer,

I'm on a secret mission,

I travel the galaxy and far beyond

A moment later, the song started kicking through the

organ and Russ sang loud and clear, adding vibrato where it was

appropriate. Sasami's smile brightened as she listened in

amazement, both in the song and his incredible ability to sing.

Aeka who was in the next room dropped her cookbook in

astonishment and went into the living room, staring at Russ who

was currently bouncing his foot with the drumbeat and singing.

Ryoko and Tenchi, who were now just quietly talking with each

other in his room, heard the song start playing. They both fell

silent when they heard Russ' voice carry throughout the entire

house, and they looked at each other in amazement. Getting up off

the bed and chair, they went downstairs and stood next to Aeka,

who was still standing in the same spot like a statue.

For a moment, Russ stopped singing as the organ

continued to play the instrumental part of the song. He smiled

hugely at Sasami's excitement, but not noticing he had an

audience. Quickly approaching the second verse of the song, he

took in a deep breath and resumed singing, and Sasami read along

with him.

A couple minutes later, he turned back toward the organ

and played the ending piano portion to the song, and faded it out.

He saved the finished piece to the computer and turned back

toward Sasami.

"Your turn. You ready?"

"R Russ?" Aeka stammered out from her spot near the

kitchen door. He whirled around and looked directly into her face,

and turned hyper red.

"Oh my god How long have you been standing there?

I'm so embarrassed. My voice isn't that good. Sorry you had to

hear that noise."

"Shut up," she said. "That was beautiful. You can sing.

I can't believe it. You can play music AND SING!" she shouted,

causing nearly every ounce of blood in Russ' body to rush to his

face. He felt like he was going to pass out a moment later.

"I I'm not that good," he whispered, trying to calm

down.

Ryoko and Tenchi both started clapping, and Aeka with

Sasami joined a moment later, showing appreciation for his

performance. Russ just looked at the floor, clearly mortified.

Aeka made her way over to Russ and put her arm around

his shoulders and looked into his face. "Really. You have a

beautiful voice. I'd love to hear you sing again."

He shook his head rapidly and turned away. "You're just

saying that. Sasami?"

"What is it, Russ?"

"It's your turn to sing this. It was meant for you, so let's

give it a try, okay?" He was trembling slightly as Aeka squeezed

his shoulder. "Why don't you fire up the karaoke machine so you

can sing it nice and loud?"

"Sure." She went to the machine and turned it on,

withdrawing one of the microphones and testing the volume. "Is

this good enough?" she asked through the system.

"Yeah, that's good. Are you ready?"

"Yup!" Her face beamed with excitement as Aeka,

Ryoko, and Tenchi all sat down on the couch.

"Okay. Here we go." He hit the play button on the organ

and cranked up the volume a little, as the piano that he played a

moment before began to come from the speakers, and Sasami

began to sing her song, loudly, clearly, and perfectly.

Five minutes later she finished, and the music faded

away. Everybody gave her a big round of applause, as Sasami ran

up to Russ and threw her arms around his neck, giving him a hug.

He returned it with a big smile, now relaxed to the point where his

skin color returned to normal.

"You're a great singer, Sasami. I guess you liked that,

eh?"

"That was so cool! Thank you Russ! Can you do another

one?"

He looked taken aback, but he nodded his head. "Sure. I

can do that for you."

"Yay!" She bounced up and down on her heels in

excitement. "I'll tell you a little about it later."

"Oh? You have a special theme in mind?"

"Yeah. I'll explain it to you later."

"Okay. Well, I'm going to go train for the rest of the day.

See you guys later," he said, standing up and opening the door.

"What? It's raining! You'll catch pneumonia or

something," Aeka said, standing up herself.

"Nah. I need to train. Having it rain is pretty nice, since

it'll keep me a lot cooler while I exercise. Besides, it helps build

character," he said, smiling, as he stepped outside and closed the

door behind him. A white flash burst around him for an instant,

changing his clothes to a pretty violet karate gi, which matched

Aeka's eye color. He quickly walked to the edge of the lake and

looked at Ryu-Oh for a moment, and then he dropped down into

the mud and began doing pushups, at five hundred ten times

Earth's normal gravity.

"He's crazy," she spat, glaring at him through the door.

"Why? Because he loves exercising?" Ryoko asked,

watching her.

"No, because he has to exercise in the rain! It's crazy.

He should have a room inside here or something for him to train in

when we have bad weather outside."

"Hmmm, I might be able to help with that."

Everybody turned toward the Universe's Greatest

Scientific Genius, who had just emerged from her lab. "I have

developed a special simulator room where he can test his fighting

skills against holograms! It's really my best piece of work for die

hard trainers like him."

"What does it do?"

"Well, it's a special room where I can create computer

sprites, which I can infuse with battle tactics from any known

species or race that has a combative strategy, and he can fight

against them."

A chorus of "Huh?" came from around the room.

"You don't get it? I don't know how I can explain it any

simpler than that!" She looked completely flustered. "Well,

basically it is a room where he can fight against computer

opponents, much like Sasami does when she plays her video game.

Russ would be one character, and he'd fight against another

character, which is computer controlled."

"Oh! That sounds really neat. I'm sure he'd like that."

"I don't know. But I've only developed the room. I

haven't put it together yet. I've still got tons of other experiments

to take care of first. The gravity enhancer will be good enough for

him for now."

"Oh well. No big deal. I'm sure if you explain it to him,

he'd be very happy," Aeka said. "I'd be happy too, since he won't

have to train out in the rain anymore."

"I suppose. Well, why don't you ladies try out the new

bath? I'm sure you people would want to get cleaned up after your

little war."

Ryoko and Aeka looked at each and nodded their heads.

Tenchi also nodded. "So when I open the bathroom door, I'll just

get the normal bathroom?"

"Yup."

"Oh. I guess that's okay. I liked the onsen though."

"Sorry Tenchi. I could modify your bathroom to

something nicer, if you want."

"Why don't you just give him access to the women's

bath?" Ryoko asked.

Tenchi blushed slightly. "No, that's okay. I don't mind

that much."

"Are you sure, Tenchi? It would be a snap to give you

access to the bathroom," Washu offered.

"I'm sure. Thanks though."

"Suit yourself. If you still want access to the bathroom,

one of the girls can let you in."

"Okay."

"Well, I need to get back to work. I just came out to put

my dishes away. See you guys later."

"Okay, and thanks, Little Washu," Aeka said, turning

away from watching Russ.

Nobuyuki poked his head around the corner. "Can I have

access to the women's bath?"

Everybody spun around and looked straight at him.

"NO!" they all shouted at once.

"Darn. Well, it's time for me to go to work. See you

guys tonight. Save dinner for me. I think I'm going to be real late

at the office again," he said, his face downcast.

"Okay Dad. See you when you get home."

June 19 approached very rapidly, which was the day they

were all supposed to leave to go to Jurai to see the Startica festival,

which begins on June 21. The house was bustling with hurried

chaos, as everybody was trying to get his or her things packed in

preparation to leave. People were racing all over the hallways,

gathering up their belongings and desperately trying to remember

not to forget anything. The excitement level was really high, and

so was the stress level. Shoulders were bumped in nearly every

hallway, and the constant thumping of feet rumbled throughout the

house for most of the morning.

Aeka was completely stressed out as she hurriedly packed

all of her stuff in various luggage cases, trying to remember

everything she needed to bring, such as her lipstick, perfume, her

favorite kimono, hairdryer, and her hairbrush. The nagging feeling

that she forgot something continued to prick at her conscience, but

that was typical for anybody who was leaving for a trip.

"Oh, I hate this! I know I forgot something!" she cried

out, hurriedly double checking everything in her luggage. Sasami

was nearby, packing her own things.

"Don't worry so much, Aeka! We still have an hour to go

before we actually have to leave. Besides, we're going home. If

you forgot something, we could always get you a new one there."

She put her hands on her hips and watched her sister frantically

look around for an item that she had already packed away. She

couldn't help but giggle.

"It's not funny, Sasami! Now where did I put that thing,"

she muttered, rummaging through the suitcases and other

belongings. Sasami rolled her eyes and continued folding her

clothes and carefully putting them in her suitcase.

"Mom is going to be so surprised to have us come home!

I can't wait to see her again," she sighed, her eyes twinkling.

Aeka smiled. "Yeah. It'll be nice to visit with mom, dad,

Azaka, and Kamadake. Dad is probably going to be furious with

me for staying away for so long." Her stress level climbed a few

more notches.

"I wouldn't worry about father. Mom can take care of

him," she giggled. "Don't worry so much. It's not good for the

complexion, as Ryoko always says."

Aeka rolled her eyes. "You just too young to understand

yet. You will, once you get older."

"There's that age excuse again. Just don't let it get to

you!"

"That's easy for you to say since you don't have to worry

about things like this."

"Oh? And what don't I have to worry about?"

"Um" Aeka was at a loss for words.

"See? You're all packed. Just relax a little. We'll get

our stuff packed into Ryo-Ohki in a little while. Let's just carry

our stuff down and set them outside on the porch. That's what

everyone else is doing."

She let out a sigh of defeat. "Okay. I guess you're right."

Lifting up some of her luggage, she tried to carry it out into the

hallway, but she packed so much stuff that it made her suitcases

weigh a considerable amount. One of the suitcases slipped out of

her hand and landed on the floor with a huge thump, echoing

throughout the house. Russ just happened to be standing nearby,

and he poked his head out of the room, wondering what was going

on.

"Need some help, Aeka?"

"Could you please? I overstuffed my suitcases."

"Sure, no problem." He turned back into the room and

said something that Aeka couldn't make out, and then he walked

over to her, bending down and lifting her suitcase with ease. "I

assume you want these outside on the porch?"

"Yeah, thank you very much."

"Not a problem," he said with a grin. "Let me get that

other one for you too." He reached out and took the other suitcase

out of Aeka's hand, then went downstairs.

Aeka watched him go, and then she returned to her room,

grabbing another two suitcases. Fortunately, these were lighter

than the ones she tried carrying out a minute ago, so she managed

to get them to the porch without incident. Sasami followed closely

behind with her own two suitcases, and set them down next to her

sister's luggage. Russ came out the door a moment later and

tossed his duffel bag into the pile. Aeka stared at it, and then at

him.

"Is that all you're bringing?"

He looked at her with mock surprise. "What? You think

I should bring my entire wardrobe for just a week?"

"At least more than that!" she yelled, pointing at his

luggage.

"I don't NEED more than that. Remember, I can generate

my clothes on a whim if I want."

"You haven't generated anything except karate gi's!

What else can you generate?"

"I can generate karate gi's only. But that's what I like to

wear. They're comfortable and I look good in them."

Aeka threw up her hands in frustration and went back

inside. Russ started chuckling to himself when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Russ said, making his way over to the front

door.

"Hi! We're here!" Mihoshi announced.

"Yeah, we're here," Kiyone said, looking very tired.

"Where should we put our luggage?"

"What's wrong, Kiyone?"

"We pulled a late night shift again. There was no way to

get out of it." She let out a big yawn and stretched.

"Oh, sorry to hear it. There will be plenty of room on my

friend's ship to sleep, so you can catch a few winks when we

leave." Russ spied their suitcases behind them. "I'll take care of

your luggage. Everybody else is more or less done packing

everything so go on inside and make yourselves comfortable for

now."

"Thanks a lot," she sighed, trudging into the house. Russ

looked back at Mihoshi, who was energetic as usual. He closed the

door behind them, holding all of their suitcases and duffel bags.

"How come you're not tired like she is?"

"I had fallen asleep during patrol last night. Kiyone never

woke me back up."

"I see. Well anyway, how do you guys like your new

apartment? I never had the chance to ask you about it since you

moved out on a whim last week."

"It's nice! It's the same one we had before. The rent is

real cheap since we can't afford" she had a hand over her mouth

again.

"You always say one word too many!" Kiyone growled at

her. Russ just smiled and shook his head, snickering lightly.

"Well, at least you won't have to worry about finances on

this trip. Aeka had said that we'd most likely stay in the Royal

Palace, so room and board will be free. Anyway, where do you

guys park the Yagami now? I haven't seen it in a while."

"We leave it in orbit and transport aboard when we need

to go out on an emergency," Kiyone explained. "Makes it nicer

than that little patrol shuttle we used to have."

"Yeah, sounds like it. Cool." Russ made his way into the

living room followed by the two Galaxy Police Officers. "Hey

guys, Kiyone and Mihoshi are here."

Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, Washu, Ryoko, and Tenchi all

turned and greeted them warmly. Russ took their luggage and

added it to the mountain of suitcases and travel bags on the porch.

"Why do women have so much luggage?" he mumbled to

himself.

Looking back inside the house, Russ decided the crowd

was too big, so he made his way out to the lake, intending to burn

the remaining time away. He had already taken care of everything

that needed to be done. The homing beacon on his spacepod was

active, and would deactivate an hour after they left. That was the

most important thing he had to remember, or his friend would have

had no idea where to pull into orbit at. All preparations were

complete, and he felt a little tinge of excitement, happy to be

leaving the place and to see Jurai for the first time.

Lifting off the ground, he flew out to Ryu-oh's tree, and

sat down on one of the roots that were above the water. Looking at

his reflection, he smiled, remembering what Aeka had told him

about this tree a couple days ago. It was really quite interesting.

Apparently, before she crash-landed on Earth, this tree was

actually a spaceship, or more accurately, the heart of the ship, sort

of like a main computer that controls everything. She also

explained that this tree was her own personal tree, which she had

since she was born. Russ noticed that she was a little downcast,

since she was remembering all the trips she had made with her

ship.

"What's wrong? You seem a little sad," he had told her,

watching her expression after she told him all about her tree and

the ship, and how she crashed into the earth, forever rooting it to

the soil.

"Oh, nothing," she said.

"I'm sorry that your ship cannot fly anymore, Aeka. Do

you sometimes wish that it could?"

"Sometimes. A lot. Yes," she said, looking into his eyes.

"I'd love for Ryu-Oh to fly once again, but that's impossible, but at

least my tree survived the crash and regenerated itself."

"Yeah, I guess so. But anyway, I had meant to ask you

something. When is your birthday?"

She looked at him in surprise. "Why?"

"Just curious."

"September 21, according to Earth calendar."

"Ahhh, cool. Mine is October 6," he said, getting a huge

idea for a killer birthday present. His facial expression hinted that

he was thinking of something.

"What are you doing?"

He turned back toward her. "I just thought of a really

neat birthday present for you."

"Oh? What?"

"Ahhh no. I'm not giving away any secrets," he

snickered.

"You're thinking about getting me a new ship, aren't

you?"

"No, nothing like that. Where would you fly to,

anyway?"

"Good point. I don't want to leave this place."

"Even though I've only been here two weeks, I don't

want to leave either. I love this planet and staying here with you

guys," he said, looking back toward the house where Sasami was

chasing Ryo-Ohki all over the place. "It's very calm and peaceful

here."

"Yes. That's why I like it here too."

"Yeah. So, have you been enjoying your ability to fly?"

he asked, changing the subject.

"It's very interesting, but it gives me a feeling of freedom.

I'm glad you showed me how to do that kind of thing."

"Would you like to learn something new?"

"Like what?" she asked, becoming interested.

"I could show you how to shoot energy blasts like I do."

"Thanks, but I can already do that."

"Really? I've never seen you do it before. I just saw

those little log things when you were about to fry Washu," he

laughed.

"It's really rare when I do that kind of thing. Strangely

enough, both times that I had done it recently was against both

Kagato's. When we were fighting on the Soja, Kagato had thrown

Ryoko into a cement pillar, and then tried to run her through with

his sword. Fortunately she dodged it, and I flung an energy ball

into his face. Didn't work, though." She frowned. "There was the

other time when Tenchi was fighting the imposter Yosho, who was

also named Kagato. He was about to kill Tenchi, and I had flung

an energy ball at him, which also didn't work."

Russ snickered. "You got to put a lot of power behind an

energy blast or it won't do squat, especially against someone who

is stronger than you are. If that is the case, fling only real low

powered energy balls just to distract him, then nail him from

behind. I speak from experience."

"You've had that kind of thing happen before?"

"Oh yes, of course. I'm strong, but I'm by no means the

strongest person in existence. Remember, Zorpheus is just as

powerful as I am, and he is a very skilled fighter. We're so close

to being equal it isn't funny." His complexion went to concern.

"Can you tell me a little more about him, Russ?"

"Sure. I had met him a long, long time ago. He had

visited Earth with his parents, since his and my parents were good

friends. The only difference between him and I is he is a Saiyan-

Human hybrid. However, he loves to sprout that he's a Saiyan

warrior, almost as if he's ashamed of his human qualities. He may

not be a hundred percent Saiyan like me, but he's just as powerful.

He likes wearing dark cloaks and odd clothes, too."

"Nagi likes wearing cloaks as well. Wonder if they're

related?" she giggled.

"Heh, I have no idea. But anyway, his eyes are red. Not

like mine, where I have black dots for pupils, but he has red irises

and black pupils. One of the human traits that surfaced on him."

"You're kidding! Nagi also has red eyes."

Russ looked at her then scratched his head. "Freaky. But

anyway, as far as the rest of him is concerned, he looks similar to

Prince Vegeta. His hairstyle is similar, but more flat, and he's just

a tad bit shorter than I am." He thought a moment. "Everybody

says I look like Goku. Well, in a way, I guess I do. The hair is

identical to his and I wear the same kind of gi he does, but I'm just

a little taller than him, and my face is only slightly different from

his. But I can see why people make that mistake."

"Who was Goku?"

"He was the Earth's greatest hero. He was the most

powerful Saiyan in existence. He had no equal, and he was just the

perfect example of a hero. He was amazing, from what I

understand from record books. It's been over a thousand years

since he lived. His kids carried on his legacy for a while, until the

Saiyan traits began to fade due to breeding with other non-Saiyan

types."

"Interesting. Well, I'm going to go back inside and watch

my soap with Ryoko. It's just about that time."

Russ cringed. "Okay, have fun." Both of them stood up

and flew over the lake, landing on the ground near the house. "I'm

going to continue training. See you later."

"Okay, don't train too hard."

"I won't," he snickered, as she went inside and he began

his enhanced gravity training at six hundred times normal gravity.

Russ continued to sit at the tree, still caught up in his

daydream, and he didn't see Aeka float over the water.

"Russ? What are you doing out here?"

"Oh, hi there," he said, snapping out of his trance and

greeting her with a warm smile. "Is it time to go?"

"Just about. It's quarter to noon, and it'll take Ryo-Ohki

about five minutes to bring all our stuff onboard and get into

orbit."

"Alright. Well, let's get Ryo-Ohki prepped and at least

get our stuff loaded. My friend should already be in orbit, actually.

He's usually early. We can go right now, but he won't decloak his

ship until noon, so we won't know where he's at."

"What is this cloak you keep telling us about?"

"Well, it hides his ship from sensors and sight. It's really

neat, actually. He can sit right in front of you and you'd never

know he was there, until he either opened fire or decloaked his

ship, or you ran into it on accident. You didn't know anything

about cloaking devices?" he asked, looking surprised. "I figured

Jurai's military would have something similar, by the way you tell

me about their ships and the like."

"No, we don't have anything like that, nor have ever

heard anything like it."

Russ and Aeka lifted off into the air and landed near the

porch. Ryo-Ohki was sitting right outside, patiently waiting for

when she was supposed to transform.

"It's a very complex piece of equipment. As far as we

know, there are only a few other races out there that have this type

of technology. He is a smooth bargainer, and he managed to

purchase the technology and modify it to his needs."

"Wow. Sounds neat," she said, pretending to be

interested.

"Well anyway, I'm sure you're not interested in techno

babble. Ryo-Ohki! Are you ready?"

She meowed an affirmative, as Russ picked her up off the

porch. Everybody who was sitting in the living room noticed and

they all stood up, making their way outside as Russ threw the

cabbit into the air and watched her transform.

"I still get a kick out of that," he laughed. "Okay!

Transport all the luggage aboard, and then bring us up," he shouted

up to her, who meowed in response. Bit by bit, the luggage

vanished, rematerializing inside of the spaceship in her cargo hold.

A few minutes later she finished, and then transported

everyone onboard. Ryoko sat down in the pilot seat, while many

other chairs appeared throughout the ship.

"Okay, is everybody here? Let's see, Ryoko, Washu,

Mihoshi, Kiyone, Katsuhito, Nobuyuki, Sasami, Aeka, Ryo-Ohki,

Azaka, Kamadake, and myself. Okay, great. Did we lock up the

house and everything?"

"I did, so there's no need to worry!" Mihoshi said from

her seat next to Kiyone.

"Ryo-Ohki! Transport me back to the surface for a

moment." Russ vanished and reappeared on the ground. He

quickly darted to every door, checking to make certain they were

locked. One door wasn't, so he quickly bolted it. Placing two

fingers to his head, he teleported himself back onboard, rather than

bug the cabbit.

"Okay, everything is locked NOW," he said, grinning at

Mihoshi, who was giggling and scratching the back of her head.

"Ryoko, take us up and put us in geosynchronous orbit with

Earth."

"Why?"

Russ looked at her like she had grown a third limb. "Just

do it. My friend should be real close to that spot."

"Well, okay. Let's go, Ryo-Ohki!" She meowed and

shot up into the atmosphere, and a few moments later, they were at

their designated height.

"Wow, she can really move fast. Okay, it's a minute till,

so let's wait and see where my friend is hiding."

"He's not here."

"Oh yes he is. Just wait and see."

Everybody looked out the windows, but didn't see

anything.

Russ started snickering. "Five four three two

one" he said. Just as he got to one, a massive section of space

near Ryo-Ohki began to bend and fold, almost as if reality was

warping next to them. Everybody gasped and Ryo-Ohki meowed a

warning, and prepared to open fire with her cannon.

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy!" he shouted. A few

moments later, a huge, massive ship appeared where the spatial

distortion occurred. "And there it is."

"It's HUGE!" Ryoko sputtered, clearly in awe, as she

admired the gleaming white hull.

"What kind of ship is that?" Washu asked, clearly

impressed.

"Well, I'll explain it to you once we get onboard. Ryo-

Ohki, fly down under the ship and there will be a huge hangar bay

underneath. He'll use tractor beams to pull us in."

The cabbit meowed a shaky affirmative, but complied.

They slowly moved under the massive hulk of the ship, which was

bristling with weaponry. Washu pulled out her phantom computer,

trying to run an analysis on the ship, but couldn't get a reading on

it.

"That's some weird armor on that thing. I can't analyze

it."

"I'm not surprised. But anyway, let's get onboard and I'll

tell you all about it, and introduce you to my good friend who is

the captain of this vessel, and who is also the owner and the man

who wanted this thing built."

"Okay," Washu said, looking the ship over from end to

end. "It's sixteen hundred meters in length, and I can detect a huge

power output from it, too."

Everybody continued to stare at the starship as they were

pulled into the hangar bay.


	10. Chapter 10

Ep 10 Arrival

I'm Russell Piper, and what you're about to read is my first real

attempt at a fanfiction. It's based around Tenchi Universe (Tenchi

TV) and the OVA so most of the main characters you've seen from

there will appear here as well. It also crosses a bit with Dragonball

Z with the existence of Dragonballs and immensely powerful

warriors. Ryoko and Tenchi had finally chosen to be together, and

Aeka is still living at the house for now. You'll see when it

happens. Anyway, I'll stop flapping my yap and let you get right

to the story. Enjoy! Send all hate mail / fan mail to

.

*Note: the Detroit Theater Organ Society's organ can be seen here

- /mi/dtos/

**Note: Ryoko's Japanese VA, Ai Orikasa, also does Quatre from

Gundam Wing (If you didn't know that already), so once you get

to the point where Russ asks her to sing it, you'll understand why.

***Note: New website going up for the Tenchi fans! Visit it at

.net The fanfic will be posted there too. There

is a forum there and a guestbook. Stop by and say hello!

Tenchi sat in his seat aboard Ryo-Ohki, transfixed on the

massive starship just outside the window. He had only seen these

vessels in science fiction films, and had never, in a hundred million

years, expected to see one in real life. And now, this thing was

sitting only a few hundred meters away, and it sent a wave of

excitement through him, mixed with worry, since the people who

had used these ships were evil. Admiring the arrow shaped hull of

the ship, up to the bridge which had two golf-ball like globes on

top, all the way down to the underside of the vessel where the

hanger bay became visible, it was the most awesome sight he ever

beheld, except when he saw Aeka's ship descend to Earth when

she arrived to rescue Mihoshi. But, this thing was so much larger.

Washu continued to type frantically at her keyboard,

gathering as many readouts as she could through the cabbit's

sensors, and everybody else more or less just stared at the craft,

regarding its massive bulk and its very geometric shape. Russ

stood in the middle of Ryo-Ohki, with an amused smirk creasing

his lips.

"Is that thing for real?" asked Tenchi from his seat,

glancing over to Russ.

He raised an eyebrow and his smile grew. "Sure is. I bet

you know what kind of ship this is, don't you?"

"Yes. I've seen them in Starwars before. What are they

called again? It's been a long time since I've seen those movies."

He scratched his head a moment when he felt Ryo-Ohki shudder

slightly. The cabbit meowed a frantic warning that something had

grabbed her and was pulling her in.

"Don't worry," Russ assured her. "Those are just the

tractor beams I was telling you about. He'll guide us into the bay,

rather than have us try to navigate our way inside. Just let him do

the work." He turned back toward Tenchi. "You were saying?" he

asked, resuming his grin.

"Yes. I remember now. Isn't that thing an Imperial Star

Destroyer out of Starwars?" Everybody turned to look at him,

wondering what he was talking about, except for Russ, who was

beaming with pride.

"Bingo! We have a winner," he said, walking over and

patting Tenchi on the back. "Yes, this is an Imperial Star

Destroyer. The 'Gray Wolf' is its name. Back when I lived here

on Earth, my parents and the captain were good friends, and so was

I. We used to watch a lot of movies together, among other things.

One of the movies we saw was Starwars, somewhere around 1990.

He saw those ships and decided he HAD to have one. So he took a

large sum of his money and paid an army of workers to construct

one. It's authentic, right down to its turbolasers. Armor, shields,

the propulsion system, and the power system are all identical to the

movie's counterparts. It took nearly ten years to construct this

working prototype."

"Incredible. But why can it cloak? I don't remember

these things being able to do that in the movies," he inquired.

"No, but they eventually get the technology to do that in

the novels. Except he improved on the cloak a little, which allows

him to see outside his cloaking shield. In the novels, the shield

blocked everything. Light, sound, radio. Nothing could penetrate

the shield. Nothing got in, nothing got out. So, he took my advice

and now uses a variety of tiny little camera sensor-like things that

poke themselves out just beyond the shield perimeter, which

allows him to gather data outside the cloaking field. They are

physically attached to the ship, since radio waves cannot penetrate

the cloak. But anyway, he can see where everything is. The

sensors themselves are so small that they just appear as space dust.

He can see us, but we can't see him, until he decides to show

himself. It's really a nifty piece of work."

Washu was eagerly listening to all the techno babble Russ

was laying on Tenchi, taking notes where appropriate. "Do you

think he'll let me study some of this stuff?" she asked.

Russ turned toward her. "That's up to him, but frankly, I

don't think he will. This ship is VERY advanced. I wouldn't

doubt that it is the most advanced vessel in existence right now.

It's very powerful, and therefore, the technology is closely

guarded."

Washu nodded. "Yeah, I can understand that. Maybe

he'd be willing to trade secrets or technology with me. I'm sure I

could think of something to improve his ship with," she replied, as

she resumed typing on her computer.

Russ shrugged his shoulders in response. "Maybe. He

really doesn't need anything new, but there still are some rough

spots that he's still struggling to deal with on the ship. But

anyway, the thing is self-sustaining, meaning it can exist in space

indefinitely, without ever needing a re-supply. It's one of the most

fantastic pieces of work he's ever accomplished. He's very proud

of it. And I love it too, because I'm also a Starwars nut," Russ

said, snickering.

Ryo-Ohki was now being pulled up into the hangar, and

the interior of the ship was now visible. Red warning lights

flashed in the waiting hangar bay, where Ryo-Ohki was to be

parked. Several men were running around, checking to make sure

everything was proceeding normally, and a few other people were

waving small lights around, guiding the tractor beam controllers.

Another shudder rumbled the cabbit as all of the tractor beams

except one shut down. The last active one slowly pulled her into

the bay, and she passed through a forcefield, which crackled with

energy as she went through, letting her in and keeping the air

inside the bay. A moment later, Ryo-Ohki shuddered one last time

as she was gently set down on the floor, and the beam disengaged

from it. Several smaller support tractor beams engaged

themselves, intending to keep the ship in an upright position. The

red warning lights and the blaring siren stopped a moment later.

They had arrived safely onboard the most advanced starship ever

conceived in this galaxy.

"We're heeeeerrrreeee," Russ announced, sounding like

the little girl from poltergeist. He looked out the window and

noticed a contingent of guards standing outside the ship, lined up

perfectly.

"At least they're not dressed in stormtrooper outfits,"

Tenchi said, sighing in relief.

Russ laughed in response. "No stormtroopers here. Most

everybody on this ship is very friendly and helpful, in sharp

contrast to the imperial guard that used to run these ships in the

movies. I think you'll like it." He moved toward the middle of

Ryo-Ohki again. "Well, shall we disembark? I'd hate to keep

them waiting."

A rustle of chairs and fabric greeted his ears as everybody

who wasn't sitting stood up and moved next to Russ. A moment

later, they were teleported outside of the cabbit-ship, onto the steel

deck of the hanger bay. Several of the guards raised their

eyebrows in suspicion, regarding the new arrivals. Living a life

onboard the star destroyer was fulfilling, but didn't have much

outside communication. They mostly just stayed in orbit around

the captain's home world, always re-building and fixing the many

existing bugs throughout the ship.

Ryo-Ohki meowed a few times, and then transformed

herself back into a little furry cabbit. She bounded up on top of

Sasami's head, which was her favorite place to be, but causing all

the guards to facefault when they saw that. Everybody in the

group perspired lightly, but recovered shortly thereafter. The

tractor beams that were supporting her automatically tried to

require the target, but it was gone, and a warning klaxon sounded.

One of the operators nearby disengaged the alarm, and it fell silent.

A mountain of luggage now sat where the spaceship did a moment

earlier.

The captain of the ship entered the hangar bay, causing all

of the men to stand at attention. He was scowling, and didn't look

at all happy. His uniform was white, which resembled the imperial

guard uniforms out of Starwars, but had some minor alterations,

mainly to allow for his muscular frame. Slowly making his way

over to the new arrivals, his footsteps echoing throughout the bay

in a steady rhythm, his gaze fixated on one spiky haired individual

standing at the front of the group. He stopped about a foot away

from him, staring directly into his eyes, not flinching or showing

any emotion. Everyone in the group looked on him with concern

and worry, as they all began to fidget with various articles of

clothing, or conform to their own little, nervous habits.

Russ returned the cold, hard stare, gazing down into the

captain's hazel eyes, also not showing any emotion. Suddenly, the

captain made a move like he was going to slug him in the face, and

then grabbed him in a crushing hug, laughing heartily. A

collective sigh of relief emanated from the group.

"Russ! How's it going, buddy? Long time, no see!" he

yelled, grinning from ear to ear and crushing Russ in another bear

hug.

"Hey, Tom! Darn right, long time no see. We have to get

together more often!"

"No kidding!"

"Well, how are things? The ship looks to be in great

shape! I guess nobody wants to challenge a warship out of

Starwars, eh?" Russ started laughing.

"Everything has been running smoothly, more or less," he

said, backing off a bit, just now noticing his contingent of

passengers. "Well, you bum, aren't you going to introduce me to

your friends?"

"Duh," he taunted, turning toward his entourage.

"Everyone, this is Captain Thomas Franklin, the owner and captain

of this vessel." Everybody gave a small bow or nod in his

direction. "Now," he said, moving over to Tenchi. "This is Tenchi

Masaki."

"How do you do, sir," Tenchi said while extending his

hand, which Tom grabbed and shook, nearly crushing it.

"I'm doing great. Nice to meet you," he answered,

looking into his brown eyes and judging his character by his

appearance. He smiled and nodded his head when he was

satisfied.

"Next," Russ said, moving over to the space pirate. "This

is Ryoko, Tenchi's girlfriend."

She smiled at Tom, extending her hand. "Hello," she

said, unsure of what to think of all of this.

Tom, on the other hand, drank in her beauty, trying to

swallow the large amount of saliva that was pooling in his mouth.

"Daaaaaamn," he muttered under his breath. Regaining his

composure, he gently took her hand in his and shook it. "It's a

pleasure to make your acquaintance." He looked back at Tenchi,

who had an amused smirk on his face. "You're sure lucky to have

a beautiful woman like her as your girlfriend. Whew."

"Thanks," he answered, putting his arm around her, as if

to emphasize that she was his, and nobody else's.

Russ nudged Tom in the side. "Don't even think about it.

She's incredibly strong. You make a move on her and she'll kick

your butt all over this Star Destroyer. Get me?"

Tom nodded in resignation, and then looked at the next

lady in line. "And who's this pretty young lady?"

"This is Princess Aeka, of Jurai," Russ responded,

introducing her.

Tom's eyes bulged a moment, and then offered his hand.

"It's my honor to have you aboard my ship, Princess."

Aeka glared at Russ for a moment, angry that he used her

title as Princess, but her gaze softened and she placed her hand in

Tom's, which he gently shook. "Thank you. You do me too much

credit."

He shook his head. "Nonsense. Princesses deserve to be

treated as royalty."

She frowned. "I haven't been home in over a year, and I

could care less about my title. Frankly, I like living as a normal

person, rather than have the burden of being a Princess."

"I see. Well anyway, here, you'll be treated very well.

Most everybody is very friendly and will do their best to make

your stay and everybody else's stay," he said, casually gesturing to

the others, "a pleasurable one."

"Thank you very much. I appreciate it."

Russ grumbled something under his breath and bumped

Tom. "Enough, you old smoothie. Next to Aeka, is the pretty

Princess Sasami, Aeka's younger sister," he said, gesturing to the

little blue haired girl.

"Hi! Nice to meet you," she said, giving a little bow.

"Well! Aren't you so cute and polite!" he grinned, giving

his own little bow. "There are a few other children onboard.

Maybe later I can show you to the game room and you can have

some fun!"

Her eyes widened in excitement. "Oh wow, you mean it?

You have a game room on the ship?"

Tom's grin grew to enormous proportions. "Yeah, you

bet. We have a huge arcade here to keep the crew occupied, and

we also have something similar to Startrek's holodeck."

"Cool!" she beamed, smiling in her utterly overwhelming

cuteness.

Tom chuckled lightly, then turned toward Russ. "Remind

me later that I have something to give you, alright? You know

how bad my memory is so don't forget."

Russ raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Something to give

me, eh? Well, I'll try to remember, but as YOU know, my

memory is about as bad as yours." He chuckled. "Well anyway,

the little animal on top of Sasami's head is Ryo-Ohki, their

spaceship."

Tom looked at Russ, then back behind the group, and

noticed the ship they arrived in was nowhere in sight. Looking

back at the cabbit, a bead of perspiration formed on his head. "So,

is this that cute little spaceship you told me about?"

"Sure is. Say hi, Ryo-Ohki."

In response, the cabbit meowed a couple of times,

bobbing her tail back and forth. Tom reached over and petted her

head, causing her to start purring lightly and meow contented little

noises. He laughed in response. "Yeah, she definitely is cute.

Amazing that she can transform into a spaceship. I've never seen

anything like her before."

"Yeah, well, you don't get out much," he said, slapping

Tom on the back. "You've spent so many years building this ship

of yours that you've more or less become a hermit."

"I am not a hermit! I was just very excited about getting

this thing put together and finished. And I still haven't worked all

the bugs out of this contraption."

"I'm sure you will eventually. Anyway, next, introducing

the resident galaxy police officers, Kiyone and Mihoshi."

Kiyone stepped forward and offered her hand. "Hello.

My name is Kiyone, and this is my partner, Mihoshi," she said,

gesturing to the blonde woman standing next to her.

Tom grasped her hand and shook it heartily. Trying to

keep his hormones under control from staring at both beautiful

ladies, he took in a deep breath and relaxed a bit. "It's a pleasure

to meet you two lovely ladies."

Mihoshi giggled. "Oh my, so flattering! Thank you."

She offered her hand as well, which Tom grasped a little more

gently than Kiyone's, and shook it.

"You're welcome."

Russ shook his head and allowed an annoyed smirk to

creep onto his expression. "MOVING ON," he growled, annoyed.

"This is Little Washu, the resident scientific genius of the house."

"Ahem."

Russ looked at her, as her green eyes stared back at him, a

little grin on her lips. Realization crashed through his head a

moment later. "Uh, let me rephrase that. This is Little Washu, the

Greatest Scientific Genius in the Universe!"

Washu's smile increased and she nodded her head in

approval. She then offered her hand to Tom. "Pleased to meet

you."

The captain looked back at Russ, who shrugged his

shoulders, grinning. "Nice to meet you, Little Washu," he said,

looking back to the red-haired scientist and taking her hand,

shaking it casually.

"And this is Azaka and Kamidake, Aeka's guardians," he

announced, gesturing to the two logs.

"How do you do, sir," Azaka said, his eye flashing blue as

he spoke.

"We're pleased to make your acquaintance," Kamidake

added, his red eye blinking with his voice.

Tom looked at both of them in interest, and then gave a

bow to both of them. "It's a pleasure."

"This is Katsuhito," Russ said, gesturing to the white-

robed, wizened man.

Tom extended his hand toward him, which was accepted

graciously. "Welcome aboard."

"Thank you," he replied, nodding his head.

"And lastly, this is Tenchi's father, Nobuyuki," Russ said,

introducing the last of his group.

"Hi," he said, smiling warmly and extending his hand.

Tom accepted it quickly and shook it. "It's nice to have

you and your son come aboard."

"I appreciate you taking the trouble to take us to Jurai.

We're in debited to you."

Tom put his hand up in front of Nobuyuki's face.

"Nonsense. You guys don't owe me anything. I too have wanted

to go to Jurai, but I never had a reason to. And it isn't often that I

take my ship away from my home planet. So don't worry. Just

enjoy yourself." He smiled and nodded his head.

"Thank you very much."

"Not a problem." Tom walked back toward the middle of

the group and stood next to Russ. "Any friend of Russ' is a friend

of mine. Feel free to go anywhere you want onboard this ship,

except where the restricted areas are marked."

A chorus of "Thank you," and other various forms of

gratitude were said from the group.

Tom smiled. "Well, for our first stop on our tour, let's go

to the bridge and get ourselves underway, shall we?" he asked,

gesturing for everybody to follow.

"Wait, what about our luggage?" Aeka said, looking

mildly distressed.

"Don't worry about that. I'll have my men take your

luggage to Russ' quarters. Your rooms will be right next to his,

and you can sort your baggage later."

"Ahhh, I see you saved my favorite room for me. Thanks

a lot."

"No problem! I always knew you'd come back onboard a

few times in the future, so I decided to keep your room ready for

you. I was using it for storage until you called me up a week and a

half ago. But all of that stuff is gone, and your room is just as you

left it."

"Awesome. Thanks a bundle."

Tom began to walk toward the hangar doors, and

everybody turned to follow in a single file line. The huge, meter

thick, solid steel door slid back into the wall, and everybody exited

the hangar bay into a large corridor, which was lined with

computer readouts and bustling with alien activity. Humanoids of

all kinds were making their way around, carrying various pieces of

equipment, and others were at the computer consoles. Several of

the aliens weren't even humanoid at all. One resembled a wild

boar, but was nearly four feet high. It carried a heavy steel pipe in

its jaw, and it grunted to Tom as it walked past. He nodded in its

direction, and then continued on his way to the lift and the end of

the hall. The group couldn't help but admire the activity inside the

corridor, but even more so the aliens that were running the ship.

Most of them turned around, giving their own version of a smile

and a friendly hello, which everybody returned warmly.

Tenchi looked all around him, almost feeling like he was

in a dream world. The realization that he was currently walking

through an alien society and technology was very overwhelming.

Sure, he had been living with alien girls, but they were so close to

being human that it was easy to forget their origins. Aeka, Sasami,

Ryoko, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Washu were all different in their

own way, and it was easy to get attached to them, simply by looks.

They didn't LOOK alien, except for the interesting hairstyles and

eyes.

A blue skinned individual walked by and nodded his head

toward Tenchi, a smile on his face. Tenchi returned it happily,

trying to keep from staring at him. Ryoko, who was walking

behind him, giggled lightly as she watched Tenchi's expression

continually change from awe to wonder and back again. However,

she too had never seen most of these aliens. She had heard about

some of them during her time as a space pirate, but now to actually

see them was amazing. Now that she thought about it, she really

never fought with very many alien cultures that weren't

humanoids. So few, in fact, that she could count them on one

hand. But there were many more than that wandering these

hallways, and all of them seemed to be very happy, as they toiled

away at their jobs. She wondered what they got paid.

Washu, even though very hard to impress, couldn't help

but marvel at the interior design of this ship. Most of the other

vessels she had been aboard were near computer-less. Jurai ships

didn't have any computers at all, and relied only on the Royal Tree

for information and ship functions. Galaxy Police ships didn't

have computers anywhere except on the bridge, where the

functions were needed most. However, this ship was lined with

computer consoles all along the walls, and in various other areas.

Each computer had near full functionality that could

control nearly everything throughout the ship. They could alter

anything from the temperature to the tractor beam emitters outside

the hanger bay. Only thing this ship was lacking in were

transporters. But, that could be easily remedied, as Washu thought

that would be a good trade for some of his technology. Of course,

if he refused, she could always either steal it or invent her own

version of whatever interested her, but make it better. It all

depended on the complexity of the items she would become

attracted to.

Kiyone and Mihoshi followed everybody else, watching

the activity around them. It was so much like Galaxy Police

Headquarters with all the people walking through the corridor. It

made her feel right at home, until Mihoshi stopped at a computer

console and started pressing buttons. Fortunately, nothing

apparently happened, and she eventually moved on, being dragged

by the arm courtesy of Kiyone.

Everybody filed onboard the lift and the doors closed

behind him or her. It was surprisingly large and roomy, and was

very quiet.

A few short moments later, the lift doors re-opened onto

the Star Destroyer's bridge. Consoles were lined up along most of

the walls, and there must've been at least three-dozen people

seated in various places around the room. The front wall was

nothing but a huge window, which provided a grand view of the

front hull of the starship and a huge section of space. Despite

everything being steel and gray, the bridge was surprisingly

comfortable. The chairs were plush and soft, and there were many

other items throughout the bridge, which resembled a meeting hall

rather than a warship's command structure. Everybody stood at

attention when Tom made his entry.

"Captain on the bridge!" a young girl announced as Tom

and his group exited the lift.

"As you were," he responded, as everybody once again

took their respective seats and resumed their duties. Nobody

seemed to be nervous or intimidated by Tom's presence or his

group of visitors.

"As you can tell," Tom began, gesturing to the area

around him. "This is the command structure, or the bridge of my

ship. This is where I spend most of my time, unless someone

requires my assistance with something. Doesn't happen too often

though."

"I still love this. Fortunately you didn't build a Victory

Star Destroyer or the bridge would be really cramped. At least,

that's what I hear," Russ mentioned as he scanned the crew.

Tom scratched the back of his head and put on an out of

the ordinary smirk. Russ watched him in interest, and then

realized something.

"I know that look," he warned. "What are you up to

now?"

Tom's only response was an increase in the size of his

grin.

"Don't tell me you're building one of those Star

Destroyers."

"Well, no. Not exactly."

Russ' eyes widened a little. "Okay, so now I know you're

building something else. What is it?"

"You'd shit a brick of I showed you," he chuckled,

watching Russ' expression grow more and more astonished.

"Hey, watch the language," Russ hissed. "There are

children present." He jerked his head over to Sasami, who was

giggling quietly. "You have to show me what you're building or

I'll go insane. I hate it when you tease me like this."

"I know. That's why I love doing it." He walked over to

the captain's chair and sat down, withdrawing a pad from one of

the small shelves that were attached to the arms. He handed it over

to Russ and sat back, waiting.

Russ accepted the pad and began thumbing through it, as

everybody else looked on in curiosity. Suddenly, his eyes looked

like they were going to bulge right out of his head as he nearly

dropped the pad, his legs wobbling and his face a mask of horror

and amazement. His gaze shot over to Tom, who had the biggest,

goofy grin he could muster on his face. His eyebrows moved up

and down as he steepled his fingers together.

"YOU'RE INSANE!!" Russ shouted, taking a look at the

pad again and causing almost the whole bridge crew to start

chuckling or stare at him in amusement. "You don't even have

this ship running at a hundred percent yet! What are you going to

do with a ship that's ELEVEN TIMES BIGGER than this one?!"

The entire group except for Katsuhito facefaulted to the floor, and

recovered a moment later.

"I have my ways. This ship is a little small for the

amount of people and technicians I have onboard, so they all

cooperated with me and agreed to build a second ship. And yes,

that is an Executor class Super Star Destroyer. It's already being

built. In fact, construction has been taking place over the last two

years. You and your group are the only outsiders that know about

it presently. Please keep it that way. It's predicted to take only

five years to finish." Tom paused a moment to let that sink in.

"Ever since the completion of this ship, I've had a landslide of

requests from people to come live onboard because they've heard

from their families how very enjoyable it is here. No money, no

funds, no worries. You work when you want, and we have

unlimited supplies. It's almost paradise, despite this vessel being a

warship."

Ryoko nearly had a heart attack and died when she heard

there was no money onboard, and Aeka had a similar reaction.

Tenchi and the rest of the gang took it in stride, accepting it easily.

Russ shook his head. "I still say you're insane, but it's

your money."

"I didn't spend a dime on this new vessel."

Now it was Russ' turn to facefault. "You're joking."

"Nope. This new supership's construction is taking place

via the combined effort of people who want to live in peace and

travel the stars. Materials and labor are all being donated to the

completion of this thing. If all goes well, there may eventually be

a fleet of Starwars style starships drifting the cosmos."

"Amazing. I always said you were a smooth talker," Russ

chuckled. "Any other ships on the assembly line?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Work is proceeding on some

smaller escort ships, like the Nebulon B Frigate, Corellian

Corvette, and a few other vessels. I want to do an interdictor

cruiser, but we haven't figured out how to generate the gravity well

yet. But we really don't need a ship like that for now. And yes,

we're also doing a Victory Star Destroyer, despite what I said

earlier."

"Interesting."

"Yeah." Tom cleared his throat. "Shall we get going

then? It should take us about twelve hours to get to Jurai from

here."

"Yes! To Jurai," everybody shouted, excitedly.

"Alright then! Sakuya?"

A pale, green-eyed girl turned from her position at the

helm. "Yes sir?"

"Take us out of the system and set a course for Jurai."

"Aye, captain." She glanced at the group for a moment

and her gaze landed on Tenchi. She hesitated, staring at him a few

moments, and then turned back toward the console, hitting a few

buttons.

A light rumble vibrated the deck and resonated in

everybody's ears as the ship pulled out of orbit from planet Earth

and began to quickly make its way out of the Solar System. Upon

reaching Pluto, another smaller vessel became visible. It quickly

made it's way over to the starship and pulled up alongside it.

"Ahhh, our temporary replacements have arrived,"

Kiyone said, looking at a different version of a Yagami class patrol

ship. "It's about time, too. Oh well, at least they only have to be

here a week or so."

Tom turned toward her. "So that's a GP cruiser?

Interesting."

A furry individual across from the helm spoke up.

"Excuse me, Captain, but that other ship is hailing us."

"Okay, put them through."

"Yes sir." He hit a few buttons on the con and an image

of a red haired woman popped up, just in front of the window.

"This is the Galaxy Police ship Oragami. Identify" She

stopped herself as her eyes widened. "Kiyone?!"

"Mitzuki? What are you doing here?" Kiyone asked,

hiding her amusement.

"I'm here to act as your replacement while you're away.

What are you doing onboard THAT ship? I thought you'd take

Ryo-Ohki?"

"No. Ryo-Ohki would take a week to get there. This ship

is much faster."

"I see."

"So, why are you our replacement? What happened at

Headquarters?" Kiyone asked, trying to hide a smirk, but not doing

very well.

Mitzuki growled something incoherent under her breath.

"I've been demoted to patrol duty again. It's just my luck that I

landed this temporary one out in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, don't worry. You'll have a lot of time to kick back

and relax," she stated, no longer hiding her amusement,

remembering those same exact words that Mitzuki spoke to her

when she had returned to GP headquarters and insulted her

position.

Mitzuki ground her teeth.

"Well, we must be going. Take it easy, Mitzuki!"

Her expression went livid as she cut the comm. channel.

Kiyone exploded laughing in response to her temper.

"That's not very nice to tease her like that, Kiyone,"

Mihoshi said, looking at her partner's glee.

"I know, but it was worth it. I finally got a little payback

for all those little insults of hers."

Tom shook his head as the two girls conversed back and

forth. "Sakuya, are we set to go to hyperspace yet?"

"Just about, sir. The computer is plotting the final

trajectory now. Never mind, it just finished. Ready to initiate

hyperspace on your mark."

"Go ahead. Let's make tracks," he said, sitting back in

his chair.

Sakuya hit the button to engage the hyperdrive, but a loud

whining sound echoed throughout the ship, winding down to

almost nothing, when the ship shuddered violently as it sat in

place, like an immovable boulder.

Tom furrowed his eyebrows together as Russ looked over

at him, his expression mixed with amusement and annoyance.

Tom began grinding his teeth, infuriated that this just had to

happen with everybody watching.

"This is NOT the Millennium Falcon!" Russ said, loudly,

and drawing a chuckle from Tenchi. "What went wrong?"

"Dammit! Something happened with the hyperdrive!

They told me they had this problem licked! Open a comm.

channel to the engine room!"

"Yes sir."

An infuriated roar of a wookie blared through the

intercom, causing Tenchi and Russ to collapse to the floor and

everyone else to break out in sweat drops. The sound of a man in

the background could be heard shouting orders to the personnel

and the wookie.

"Hand me the hydrospanner!"

The wookie roared a response as it apparently tossed him

the said part.

"No! This is a thetaspanner! Give me the hydrospanner!"

The sound of a hundred parts crashed through the

intercom system.

"OWWWWW! You bonehead!"

Another roar from the wookie intoned that the guy should

know better. A moment later the chief engineer got on the

intercom.

"I'm sorry, sir. The hyperdrive motivator is shot. It'll

take us about two hours to repair or replace the thing. We're

working as quickly as we can."

Tom groaned loudly. "How did that happen? We had

that thing working smoothly for an entire year!"

"I know sir, but some weird commands were entered on a

console near the hanger bay. Apparently it caused an overload

when we went to initiate the hyperdrive."

Mihoshi put on her guilty look as Kiyone stared at her in

barely controlled fury. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT,

MIHOSHI!" she screamed, grabbing her shirt and violently

shaking her back and forth, ready to kill her partner.

"I'm sorry! I thought it was a computer game or

something," she whined.

"Can't you keep your hands off of ANYTHING!? You

even blew up Yagami's engines more than once when Washu was

trying to fix them! Now you blew up this thing's engine!"

"I'm sorry," she said again, starting to cry.

Kiyone ground her teeth, but allowed some of her anger

to subside. "I'm sorry, Tom, for my partner's actions. If you

want, we'll go to the engine room and try to help fix it."

Tom looked on both of them in mild amusement, allowing

his frustration to dissolve into nothing. "Don't worry about it.

We'll have it fixed in two hours. I'll just have all the computer

consoles ignore any commands given by her, so something like

this won't happen again."

"Thank you, sir, for being so forgiving," Kiyone said,

giving a small bow in appreciation.

Tom looked at Kiyone's partner, who resembled a small

child who was in trouble. "Come here, Mihoshi."

"Yes sir," she answered quietly, as she slowly made her

way over and stood in front of Tom.

"Okay. Computer, ignore all commands given by

Mihoshi on all computer consoles."

"Affirmative," it answered, in Russ' voice.

Russ arched an eyebrow and grinned. "Since when did

you do that?"

Tom smiled. "I like your voice for the computer. But I

can change it to anything I please, if it bothers you." He turned

back toward Mihoshi. "It's all done. You can go stand with your

partner again."

"It doesn't bother me at all," Russ replied, as Mihoshi

resumed her position next to Kiyone. "But why pick my voice? I

thought you'd use Startrek's computer voice if anything."

"Nah, that one was too annoying. Well anyway," he

muttered, glancing around the bridge. "Sakuya, when the

hyperdrive gets repaired, call me back up here."

"Yes sir," she said, turning toward him, but locking her

gaze on Tenchi again.

Tom turned toward the group. "When we enter

hyperspace, it's really neat to see. I'll bring you guys back up here

once we're ready to go."

"Alright, sounds good," Tenchi responded. "Can you

show us to our quarters so we can get our stuff put away?"

"Of course! Russ? Would you do the honors?"

"No problem. I assume you want to oversee the repairs to

the engines?"

"Yeah. I have to make sure that man didn't get killed by

the wookie," he chuckled.

"Okay, then I'll see you in a little bit." Russ turned

toward everyone. "Okay, follow me!" He moved back over to the

lift and everybody filed onto it. The doors slid shut and they were

whisked away to the living quarters.

Tom watched them leave, and then sat back in his seat,

rubbing his head in his hands. He opened an eye and noticed

Sakuya was still staring at the lift.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, concerned.

Suddenly realizing she wasn't paying attention to her job,

she blushed slightly. "I'm sorry sir. I just think Tenchi is cute."

"Don't even think about it. The blue haired woman is his

girlfriend, and I don't think she'd take kindly to any interference,"

he said, causing her happy mood to dissolve. "I'm sorry, but I'm

only telling you this for your own good. From what Russ told me,

she could kick MY butt all over this ship."

"I understand, sir. I'm sorry for neglecting my duties."

He waved a hand. "Think nothing of it. I must go to the

engine room now and see what's going on. Call me if something

else blows up or whatever."

"Aye, sir," she said, feeling a little better and resuming

her data analysis on the computer console.

Russ and his party entered the area where their living

quarters were located. Leading them into the hallway, and then to

his room, he keyed the command to open the door and it slid into

the wall, revealing a very large suite, complete with a king size

bed, a hot tub, and many other high-class amenities. In the middle

of his room, a mountain of luggage was piled neatly, awaiting its

owners.

Entering his quarters, Russ gestured for everybody to

follow. Once they entered, he closed the door behind them and

then turned toward the group. "Okay, so, how are we going to

handle the sleeping arrangements if you guys want to rest a while

before we arrive at Jurai? I know Ryoko and Tenchi want to be

together, Aeka and Sasami would probably want to be together,

along with Azaka and Kamidake, Kiyone and Mihoshi will be

together, but what about the rest of you?"

"Nobuyuki and I will take a room, if that's okay,"

Katsuhito informed Russ.

"Aw, but dad, I wanted to join Ryoko and Tenchi in their

room."

"DAAAAD!!" Tenchi growled, angrily.

"What?"

"Come on! Give me a break!" he argued, turning red.

Ryoko giggled lightly, taking it in good humor. Aeka couldn't

help but giggle as well. Russ stood there with his forehead

beading with sweat.

"Nobuyuki and I will take our own room. Got it?"

Katsuhito announced again, glaring at his son in law.

He sighed in resignation. "I guess so."

"I'll just have my own room. I have some work I need to

get done before we get to Jurai," Washu informed Russ.

"Okay, no problem."

"Thanks."

"Well, since that is settled, grab your luggage and just

pick a room along the hallway on this side." He thought a

moment, and then counted the number of groups again. "Oh crud.

He didn't give us enough rooms. We're one short. Well, there are

a couple of options. I can buzz Tom and have him set us up with

another room, or if one of you guys don't mind, you can share my

room with me." He looked at the group who glanced at each other.

"It's up to you guys what you want to do."

Aeka looked at Sasami, then back at Russ. "We'd be

willing to share a room with you, if you'll have us, Russ."

His gaze went from mild surprise, to a warm smile. He

nodded in agreement. "Sure. I can set you guys up here in the

living room."

"Great," she answered, smiling at Sasami. Everybody

else looked at each other and exchanged a knowing glance, smiling

slightly.

"Okay, that's settled then. Grab your bags and take them

to your rooms. Let's get rid of this pile of luggage!"

Everybody complied and picked up his or her bags, then

preceded to occupy their temporary quarters. They weren't as

extravagant as Russ' were, but they were nice and comfortable,

especially only for a twelve hour trip. Futons were laid out, beds

were made, and everybody got familiar with the available items in

their rooms, including the food replicators.

Making sure everybody was settled into his or her new

quarters, and demonstrating the replicator's use, Russ returned to

his own quarters, where Aeka and Sasami both began to lay out

futons in the living room. However, he had other ideas.

"No need for that. You two can take the bed. I'll either

sleep on the couch or something."

"That isn't necessary. You got us this transportation to

get us to Jurai very quickly, and I simply won't hear of you not

getting to sleep in your own bed."

Russ growled to himself. "And the Princess of Jurai

should sleep like a princess, instead of like a big, dumb barbarian

like myself," he said, snickering.

She blushed slightly. "I'm sorry about calling you that. It

was rude of me."

He shook his head and waved it off. "I was insulting you

too, Aeka. Don't worry about it, and I'm sorry too."

She smiled and nodded her head. "Apology accepted."

Sasami looked at the two of them when her stomach

croaked lightly. "Oh no! I never made or ate any lunch! What are

we going to do about food?"

"That's no problem here, Sasami. Watch this," Russ said,

making his way over to a hole in the wall, surrounded by

pushbuttons. "What would you like to eat?"

She thought a moment, and decided on something simple.

"I want just plain old pickles and miso soup."

"Anything to drink?"

"Tea, I guess."

"Okay." He hit a few buttons on the wall, and then spoke.

"Pickles, miso soup, and tea."

The air inside the hole shimmered for a few moments,

then two bowls appeared, one with pickled rice and the other filled

with a random flavor of miso soup. A cup of tea sat next to those

two items, and a pair of chopsticks laid across the rice bowl.

Everything sat on a large, plastic tray, complete with a paper

napkin.

Russ carefully lifted the meal and brought it over to

Sasami, smiling with pride. "Enjoy your lunch!"

She gasped in surprise. "Wow! That was so cool! How

did it do that?" she asked, excitedly.

"Uhhh, frankly, it would be quite difficult to explain.

Washu would probably be the only one to understand it."

"Oh," she answered, taking a seat at the table near the

middle of the room. She dug in to her rice and ate a few bites, then

washed it down with some of the soup. "Mmmm," she said,

licking her lips. "This is pretty good."

"Probably not as good as a real meal, but it does the job

decently. What about you, Aeka? Are you hungry?"

"Not really. I'm just thirsty. Some tea would be nice."

"Coming right up." He made his way back over to the

replicator and ordered a cup of tea. After it materialized, he

removed it from the hole. "Give me a Mountain Dew," he

demanded, as the replicator produced a tall glass of green liquid,

which was fizzing slightly. Several ice cubes floated in the

concoction as well.

Handing Aeka her tea, he took a long drink of his soda,

letting out a satisfied, "Ahhh." She looked at him curiously, then

at his drink.

"What's that?"

"Mountain Dew, the beverage of gods and hyperactive

individuals who love a sugar rush," he said, laughing. "I haven't

drank one of these in a long time, and I had to have one."

She raised an eyebrow, growing more curious by the

minute. Looking back at her tea, then back at Russ' drink, she

decided she wanted to try a Mountain Dew as well. "Can you put

this back and give me one of those?" she asked, pointing at his

drink.

"I don't know if you'll like it or not. But you can try it, I

guess." He took her tea back to the replicator and it dissolved from

view. Ordering another soda, it appeared a moment later, and he

handed it off to Aeka, who accepted it happily.

"Thank you." She raised the glass to her lips, but the fizz

from the soda hit her in the nose, causing her to scrunch her face

slightly, and she started giggling. Trying again, she took a drink of

the stuff, feeling the bubbles on her tongue, and then swallowing.

She looked back up at Russ and smiled, and took another drink.

"This is really weird, but it tastes very good. It's sweet."

"That's what I love about it. Good stuff. This is actually

an Earth beverage. When I was living with you guys, I kept

raiding the fridge, hoping to find some soda or pop that I used to

drink when I lived in America. Unfortunately, seems only healthy

stuff made its way into the cooler."

"That's Sasami's doing. She always worries about

everybody eating healthy."

"That's considerate of her. But this pop isn't really

healthy at all. It's full of sugar, which is why it's so sweet, and it

has really no nutritional value. But that's why it tastes so good!"

he said, bouncing lightly on his heels.

"Hmmm, well, it is good. I like sweet stuff from time to

time."

"Yeah? You like candy and sweets?" he asked, making

his way over to a large, black leather sofa and taking a seat,

making the couch produce a "foosh" sound.

She followed, taking a seat next to him. "Yeah.

Although it drives Sasami crazy when I eat it. She always warns

me about it rotting my teeth or making me fat."

Russ chuckled lightly, and Sasami glared at her sister for

a moment, before returning to her lunch. "It won't make you fat if

you eat it in moderation. A few sweets a day would never hurt

anybody."

"That's my favorite excuse," she giggled.

Russ sat back and let out a sigh, and a moment later, he

chuckled lightly. Aeka looked at him in mild amusement.

"What's so funny?"

He turned toward her and grinned. "I was just thinking

about the Star Destroyer's engines blowing up. It isn't the first

time something like this happened. You should've seen this thing

when he first finished it. Half the time we thought it was going to

blow itself to smithereens from the roughness of the power source

and the engines." Closing his eyes, he continued. "The first time

we took this thing into hyperspace was really scary. It nearly

shook itself to pieces from the incredible stresses of traveling so

fast. But the funny part was that Tom never put up the stupid

navigation shields to protect us. He turned this ship upside down

while trying to find the problem, only to find out it could've been

solved with the push of a button. But anyway, he did find some

other trouble spots that he smoothed over during his scrutiny." He

opened his eyes and sat up to a more comfortable position.

"However, he did finally get this ship running in tip-top shape, and

it made it here without a hitch. Too bad about Mihoshi though,"

he snickered, shaking his head.

Aeka smiled sweetly. "She's always been like that, being

so carefree. Sometimes I wonder why Kiyone hasn't killed her

yet."

"They are a comical pair, that's for sure. Order and

chaos, all rolled into one package."

"Yeah. So," she began, changing the subject. "What is

there to do on this ship?"

Russ grinned. "Just about whatever you want. There are

many things to keep us occupied. There's a game room, which has

all kinds of entertainment items to keep us busy, such as arcade

machines, video games, virtual reality simulators, and other items

of interest. The holodeck is a very advanced piece of technology

that can simulate any kind of environment. In a way, it's like

well um what's a good way to describe it." He scratched his

head, pondering over a simple explanation, but not really coming

up with a clear example. "Well, in a way, it's similar to a virtual

reality videogame, but with real locations and stuff. For instance,

if you wanted to walk along the beach of a fantasy planet, such as

Risa, we could call that program up in the computer, and we can

actually walk through it. Even though its all computer generated,

it appears real. The sand at your feet, the waves crashing into the

shore, and the sights and sounds of the beach fill each and every

physical sense, even though all of it isn't real. If walking along a

beach isn't your fancy, there are others to choose from. You can

race a car around a track, going nearly two hundred miles an hour,

or you can fly a spaceship and battle against evil aliens, or you can

even attend a concert, if you want. It's really a neat thing to mess

with."

"I think I get it. You're saying that we can, in a way, go

to those places, but we never leave the room?"

"Sort of like that, yes. Maybe later we can check it out.

Or, we can take a walk now, and I can give you sort of an

abbreviated tour of the ship. Sasami can come along too, if she

wants," he offered, turning to look at her, who smiled and nodded

her head.

Sasami finished her dinner and she made her way over to

a large, black leather chair, similar to a lazy-boy recliner that sat at

an angle, facing the stars outside the ship. There wasn't much else

to see, since they were so far away from Earth, and no other

planets were nearby. She turned toward the couple on the couch.

"I'd like that. Can we go see the game room first?"

Nodding, Russ stood up from the couch, offering his hand

to Aeka, which she graciously accepted, as he gently pulled her to

her feet. Ryo-Ohki bounded up to Sasami, meowing quietly, then

jumping on her shoulder to come along.

"Why not transform yourself into your human form? You

can play the games with Sasami. There should be other kids there,

as well as adults, playing the games," Russ suggested to the cabbit.

In response, she transformed into her child form with an

audible 'pop.' She was dressed in a long, blue t-shirt, with a carrot

logo on the front, as usual.

"Well, let's go. I'll ask the others if they'd want to come

along or better, I'll just tell them that they can go off on their

own and explore the ship. And they won't need to worry about

getting lost. The computer knows where everybody's quarters are.

All of you have been entered into the computer, and all you'd have

to do is ask the computer where the quarters are, and it'll guide you

right back to here."

"That sounds good. It would be real easy to get lost on a

ship this size, especially with all the hallways."

"There are multiple decks too. Plus there are some ten

thousand, if not more individuals onboard this vessel. But anyway,

enough babble. Let's go," he said, and quickly returned the lunch

tray and the empty glasses of tea and pop into the replicator, and it

dissolved from view.

Russ, Ryo-Ohki, Aeka, and Sasami all exited his quarters,

and the door sealed itself when they left. He knocked on Tenchi's

door, and it slid open, revealing him standing there with Ryoko

languidly draped over his neck.

"I just wanted to tell you guys that you can go anywhere

you want onboard the ship. If you get lost, you can ask the

computer where your quarters are, or how to get to another part of

the ship. There are game rooms, places to eat, if you don't want to

eat here in your room, and other various things. I think there is

even a tour mode for the computer, which will guide you around

the entire ship. The four of us are going to the game room, so

enjoy yourselves."

"Thanks a lot, Russ. I do appreciate you and your friend

for taking us to Jurai. And I'm sorry Mihoshi blew up the

engines."

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard enough apologies about that.

Don't worry. It has happened before. Now, go enjoy yourselves

or I'll lock you in here," he said, grinning.

They nodded and retreated back into their room, debating

on where to go. Russ went to everybody else's door and told them

the same thing, before proceeding on his way to the game room.

Two hours passed by very quickly, and Tom paged Russ

and his party over the intercom, asking them to head up to the

bridge. Since everyone was in a different part of the ship, they all

arrived separately, but in good time. They all approached the

captain, who was sitting in his chair, and he smiled when they

came up to him.

"The engines are repaired and we're ready to go. I just

wanted you to see this." He looked toward the helmsman.

"Sakuya, take us to Jurai, normal cruising speed."

"Aye, captain," she said, hitting a few keys on the console

and then engaging the hyperdrive.

The ship shuddered slightly, then began moving forward

very rapidly. A force of inertia was felt, even through the inertial

dampeners. The visible stars in the window blurred and streaked

past the window, and then everything faded into starlines, looking

like a tunnel of rainbow colors that swirled around the ship in a

corkscrew fashion. Gasps came from the passengers from looking

at the sight, awed by the beauty and almost hypnotic colors of

hyperspace. Russ and Tom both grinned, satisfied with their

reaction.

"We should arrive at Jurai in a little less than twelve

hours. Feel free to do whatever you please. Go to the game room,

or take a walk through one of the many cafeterias, or do whatever

else you may find of interest. Take a nap if you feel like it. My

ship is your ship. Just don't try to blow anything up again," he

said, winking at Mihoshi, who blushed and looked away shyly.

Everybody bowed in appreciation, and then proceeded to

the lift. Russ elbowed Tom in the arm lightly. "Thanks a lot, for

taking all of us to Jurai. I really do appreciate it. And I'm sorry

about Mihoshi's clumsiness."

"Bah, don't worry about it. I told you that before. Shit

happens." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Well, go join your girlfriend and show her around or

something," Tom recommended, nudging Russ in the ribs.

Nearly having a heart attack, he blushed fiercely and

glared at the captain. "She is NOT my girlfriend. None of them

are."

"Bullshit. You mean to tell me that purple haired woman

isn't your girlfriend? Look how she's staring at you right now," he

said, glancing over Russ' shoulder.

Russ carefully peeked back toward the lift, and sure

enough, Aeka was watching him with a smile on her lips. She

casually folded her hands in front of her and shyly looked down to

the floor. "She's not my girlfriend. However, she is attracted to

me, or so the others say. But I don't want a girlfriend right now.

I've got far more important things to worry about."

"Like what? There's a gorgeous girl over there that

seems to want you, and you're just going to walk on by? I can't

stand it when you DO this. Every girl who has ever held an

attraction to you, you just become friends and nothing more!

Why?!" he growled, flustered.

Tom was getting really irritated over Russ' constant

dodging of relationships. Having been in a relationship only once,

he knew what Russ was missing, and it drove him bananas. Why

on earth would a man not want a mate for himself? Why keep

dodging the cupid's arrow? Tom couldn't understand it, although

he has tried many times. Many women have held attraction to

Russ before, but the only thing he allowed himself to do was

become friends. Several more aggressive women have tried to

pressure him into a relationship, but he brushed it off, or avoided

that person from that moment on.

Tom had asked Russ on multiple occasions as to why he

never wanted to get involved. However, he always wound up with

a non-definite answer. He'd dodge the question, or out of dumb

luck, would get an interruption that would save his rear.

Watching Russ, he could see that he was nervous and was

again looking to dodge the question. And by the changing look on

his face, he just found one.

"I'll argue about this with you another day. They're

waiting for me," said Russ, turning toward the group and making a

hasty retreat.

"You're damn right we're going to discuss this later. I

still have that present to give you too, so we'll discuss it then,"

Tom called after him as Russ got on the lift and the door closed

behind him.

"What was that all about?" asked Aeka, after Russ

jumped on the lift and let out an exasperated sigh.

"He's just being an a" he stopped himself and tried to

think of an insult that wasn't as offensive. "He's being an idiot.

He does this kind of thing to me all the time. Drives me crazy."

"Sorry about that." Then more quietly, she spoke again.

"He was arguing about me, wasn't he?"

Russ froze for a moment and hesitated. "Nothing you

need to worry about," he said, in an unconvincing voice. He

turned toward her and looked upon her with sad eyes. "Please, just

drop it," he begged.

"Okay. I'm sorry." Her complexion turned slightly

depressed as she looked away from him.

Russ shook his head and let out another sigh. "I need to

take my mind off of those troubles. You guys can go wherever

you want. I'm going to the holodeck to load up the music program

of mine."

"What's that?"

"Basically a concert hall type deal with an ultra huge

organ on the stage. Instead of synthesized instruments, it uses real

ones. And I can enter songs into it by thought transfer. I'm just

going to go over there and play for a while."

"Would you mind if I joined you? I like listening to your

music, and you haven't played any music for a while." Aeka

smiled up at him.

"If you want."

"Would you mind if the rest of us joined you as well?

Aeka's not the only one who likes listening to your stuff," Washu

asked from behind Russ.

He nodded. "If you would like to. It's been a little while

since I've played it last. I can't wait to do it again." Now smiling,

he continued. "It's real easy to compose music onto that thing

because of the thought transfer feature. I can basically play a song

in my head, and I can install it on the organ, then I can play it. It's

way faster than using the organ back at your place."

Aeka raised an eyebrow at his statement of 'Your place.'

Didn't he think that their home was his home? Strange. However

undaunted, she smiled and nodded as the lift came to a stop, right

next to the said holodeck.

Russ and company exited the lift and entered the room,

which only resembled an area with black squares divided by

yellow lines in a checkerboard configuration.

"This is your holodeck? I thought this was going to be a

concert hall?" asked Sasami, who was standing next to him in

confusion.

"Wait a moment." He turned his attention to a computer

console and hit a few buttons. "Computer, load up 'Russ Organ.'"

The air inside the room shimmered a moment, and then they were

instantly on stage of the theater.

"Oh my That's really amazing," Aeka exclaimed,

admiring the view of the place.

A massive organ, even larger than the Detroit Theater

Organ Society's Wurlitzer, sat on the stage in the center. Six long

keyboards, a set of foot pedals for the organ, and another set for

the piano, and six separate volume pedals presented themselves on

the instrument. Hundreds of little levers and switches were laid

out in a semi-circle around the entire console. It was truly a sight

to behold.

"You're going to play that thing?"

"Yup. I've done it before." He made his way over to the

organ and switched it on. The sound of rushing air made it to

everybody's ears.

Washu summoned her computer and typed in a few

things, analyzing the holographic technology. "Russ? Everything

in here is real," she announced, looking at him over her screen.

"No it isn't. Everything in here is computer generated.

They use something similar to holographic technology, but it's

actually called particle synthesis, which can even fool the most

advanced sensors. We just call it a holodeck because it's easy to

remember, and we were trekkies as well. We just liked Starwars a

whole lot more," he said, winking.

"Impressive. Really. This is the first time I've actually

run into technology that I haven't seen or invented before."

"Then this must be quite a learning experience for you."

"Yup."

"Well anyway, why don't you guys take a seat down in

one of the rows, and I'll play for a while," he suggested, gesturing

with his hand to the hundreds of rows of chairs.

"Thank you," Aeka said, as she and the group made their

way offstage and took a seat in the first row. Russ sat down on the

bench and hit a few keys, and the sound of trumpets sang their

notes quite loudly, but not uncomfortably loud.

"This will be fun," Russ said to himself as she brought up

the first song he wanted to play. "I haven't done this one in a

while. Nice and long too." He pressed a few buttons and many

sounds and sound effects rumbled out of nowhere, almost startling

the audience. Quickly typing on a nearby computer keyboard, he

entered the song title, and a variety of huge screens behind the

organ appeared, showing different camera angles and scrolling the

song title. 'Babylon 5 Variations on a Theme' moved across the

bottom of the screen as Russ began to play a variety of

instruments. His hands flew across two of the keyboards as his left

foot pressed the foot pedals in perfect time, and his right foot

adjusted two of the volume pedals simultaneously, as the other

instruments continued to play automatically.

Everyone's silence from the audience told him they were

definitely impressed with the dramatic improvement of the sound

quality. The chairs vibrated slightly with the bass notes and

drumbeats, adding an awesome thrill to feel the sound as well as

hear it. They all listened eagerly for a few minutes, and then the

holodeck door slid open again as several other aliens poked their

head in, unnoticed by everybody else, since the door was at the

very back of the theater. They entered and took seats throughout

various parts of the hall, listening to his music.

It wasn't long before the hall began to fill up at a more

rapid pace. Aeka just happened to sense something odd and she

looked behind her, seeing nearly a hundred people seated in the

chairs, and more coming in. The others noticed and looked too,

and smiled in satisfaction.

Over thirteen minutes later since the beginning of the

song, Russ finally wound it down and finished it, and a roar of

applause from behind him rang in his ears. Taking a deep breath,

he stood and bowed, as the audience continued to applaud.

Surprising to Tenchi and his family, Russ smiled and sat back

down, and typed in another song onto the keyboard. 'Theme to

Armageddon' began to scroll across the bottom of the screen as he

loaded up the said song and began to play.

The audience continued to grow in size, becoming larger

and larger. Soon, nearly a thousand people sat in the seats, and

still more were filing in, all enjoying the music.

Russ played numerous different pieces. Titles he played

included the theme to Air Force One, An American Symphony,

which was from Mr. Holland's Opus, and The Last Starfighter.

Other songs he played included several tracks from the Kull the

Conqueror soundtrack, covering the 'Ship Brawl' scene and

'Kull's Escape.' He really enjoyed doing those because it sounded

like a normal orchestra, and then it started kicking with electric

guitars and other various instruments that you'd never expect to

hear. 'Ship Brawl' was his favorite though. He had a smile on his

face the entire time he played that title, especially once it got

rolling with the 'extra' instruments.

After while, he switched gears from orchestrated only

songs to something a little more interesting, so he began to play

songs from Robert Miles. Songs such as Children, the original and

dreamland versions, Landscape, and Red Zone, all graced the

audience, including others.

An hour and a half later, he finally stopped and stood up,

the roar of applause almost deafening. He bowed graciously and

then spoke, and surprisingly, his voice carried over everybody

quite loudly from the intercom system.

"Thank you very much. I need a quick break. We'll take

a fifteen minute intermission or whatever, and then I'll play a little

more."

The murmuring of the audience increased in volume as

hundreds of people got up from their seats and made their way to

the concession stand, which was also a part of Russ' program.

Popcorn, drinks, and other snack foods were served to the people,

as they all idly chattered with each other.

Russ jumped down off the stage and landed with a heavy

thud on the floor in front of his group. "So, have you been

enjoying the performance?" he asked, grinning, and knowing full

well what the answer was going to be.

"I knew you were good, but I had no idea you were THIS

good," Aeka said, smiling widely. "You're fantastic. Even though

some of the songs were quite interesting, you made them all

sound great."

"I agree. You are really good at this. It even makes me

want to try it sometime," Tenchi added, grinning. Nobuyuki

smiled at hearing that, as did Katsuhito.

"How come you're not panicked from being in front of so

many people, yet, you were so paranoid in front of just us?" Aeka

asked.

"I really don't know. Performing in front of huge groups

of people doesn't really bother me a whole lot. Performing in front

of individuals, on occasion, makes me nervous."

"But why?" she persisted.

Russ shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's because I can

be ridiculed so much more easily. Not that you guys specifically

would do that, but I've done stuff in front of other small groups,

and it's real easy to hear one of them start bashing me. That's

where my nervousness comes from."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. But anyway, you've done a

fantastic job with the music you've played so far."

"Yes, I think we'd all agree to that," Ryoko added.

"Thanks a lot guys. Now, I had some other ideas." He

turned toward Sasami. "How would you like to get up on stage

and sing, 'I'm a Pioneer' in front of everybody? I'm sure they'd

love to hear it."

"Really? You think they would? But I'm a little

scared about doing that in front of so many people," she said,

worriedly, but excited at the prospect of doing a live performance.

"Don't worry about anything like that. Everybody here

won't care if you accidentally make a mistake. Even I make

mistakes from time to time, and nobody says anything about it.

They're very polite here."

She smiled and contemplated it for a few moments, then

nodded her head in agreement. "Okay! I'll sing it on stage for

you."

Russ chuckled. "Alright." He turned toward the rest of

the group. "Would you guys like to come on stage and sing as

well? You can do the songs I wrote for you." He snapped his

fingers, and six microphones appeared onstage. Small, dark,

phantom computer screens phased in just behind the microphones,

resembling Washu's computer in appearance. A mic. also

appeared on the organ. "We'll do only the songs you've done

before, so you'll be more comfortable with it."

Ryoko, Aeka, Tenchi, Washu, and Mihoshi all looked at

each other, worried expressions crossing their faces. "Um I

don't think I'm ready to perform in public yet," Aeka said,

nervously.

"The same goes for me too," Mihoshi added.

"Ditto," Washu said.

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun! I won't have you do it right

this minute, since I'm going to do a few other songs I composed

for you guys. But once I finish, you're welcome to come up on

stage and sing."

"I don't think so, Russ. I'm sorry." Aeka didn't meet his

gaze.

"Aww, spoiled sport. Oh well. At least Sasami isn't

chicken," Russ teased.

Aeka glared at him. "I am not chicken! I just don't want

to."

Russ' grin expanded a little. "Yeah right. Well anyway,

Sasami, you can do your song. Do you want to do it right after

intermission, or do you want to do it after I do a few others?"

"After you do your songs," she said, smiling excitedly.

"Okay. I'll be right back. I got to use the restroom."

Russ leaped back on the stage with ease and walked behind a

curtain. He returned a few minutes later and checked the time,

noticing that most people were back in their seats, and the rest of

them were still filing down the aisles. Stepping toward the middle

of the stage in front of the organ, he waited for everybody to get

seated. He bowed, and a polite applause reverberated the hall as he

took a seat at the bench again. Placing his left hand against the

panel that accepted music via thought, he transferred the first song

he wanted to perform. It took about ten seconds, and then he

turned toward the standard computer keyboard and entered the

song title. 'Sad Aeka (Aeka Bojo)' scrolled across the bottom of

the screens. Just under that, in smaller print, said, 'Debut.'

Aeka looked at the title and raised her eyebrows in

surprise, as did Sasami and Tenchi. The rest of them turned to

look at the princess, and she shrugged her shoulders in response.

She turned her attention back to Russ as he began to play.

Sounds of sad piano notes filled the auditorium, and were

eventually joined by other instruments. The camera that displayed

Russ' face showed that he wasn't smiling at all, but wasn't really

concentrating either. He actually looked sad, despite his lips

twitching themselves into a grin from time to time.

The princess watched him and how carefully he tapped

each key in sequence, and realized that must be the song he

thought of when he saw her on the first day. She also thought

about the day she was supposed to leave with Sasami, and how

unhappy she felt as she stood near the lake and quietly sobbed to

herself while thinking about Tenchi. Strangely enough, Ryoko,

Tenchi, Sasami, Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, and Mihoshi all thought

about that day as well, and how Aeka must've felt.

Russ continued to play, and an uncharacteristic silence

fell over the audience, as they watched his expression on the

screen. They knew that he felt the emotion of the song, but was

trying to hide it. He almost looked a little misty as he drew the

song to a close.

Polite applause greeted his ears as everybody

congratulated his new masterpiece. He stood and bowed.

"Thank you," he said, after the applause died down.

"That was for one of my new friends that I met just recently. I

hope she liked it," he said, glancing at Aeka, who smiled and

nodded in return. He let out a sigh of relief.

"I have a few more that I'm going to do, then we'll have

some fun!" He sat back down on the bench and again placed his

hand on the pad, transferring another song. He again turned

toward the other computer keyboard and entered the song title,

'Ryoko's Theme.' And under that, remained the 'Debut' word.

It was now Ryoko's turn to smile as she held Tenchi's

hand and watched Russ begin playing. Surprisingly, the song was

a stark contrast to the previous song he had played. It was

considerably happier and faster paced. The first thing that ran

though her mind was the first time she tried to seduce Tenchi in the

cave. It was quite amusing, especially the trek just to get to where

Washu was imprisoned. It fit the mood perfectly.

Tenchi chuckled lightly as he squeezed Ryoko's hand and

also thought about that time. Too bad he couldn't go back and

redo that entire episode again. He would've been far more willing

if he could.

Russ finished the song and immediately jumped into a

different mix of the same thing, without missing a beat. And after

he finished that one, he remixed it again and did the same song a

third time. Once he finished, more applause emanated from the

audience in appreciation. He placed his hand on the transfer pad

once again for a few moments.

Turning around once again, Russ bowed. "Thanks a lot,

everyone. But now, I'd like to introduce one of my friends, who

I'd like to bring up here to sing for you guys! Please give a warm

welcome for Sasami Jurai!"

The audience began clapping as Russ began to play

'Happy Sasami' on the organ. The little princess stood up and

skipped over to the stairway and came up on stage, and waved at

everybody. They applauded a little louder and with a lot of

enthusiasm, and Sasami smiled, reveling in the acceptance. She

approached one of the microphones and it automatically lowered

itself to her level. Russ faded out her theme and stopped.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes!" she said, full of excitement.

Turning back toward the organ, he transferred the song

and began to play, and Sasami began to sing as the audience fell

quiet. She sang loud and clear, and her voice carried to the far

reaches of the concert hall. The screen behind the microphone

displayed the lyrics, just in case she forgot them, and the larger

screens behind the organ changed part of their focus to Sasami,

displaying her from various angles as the lyrics scrolled across the

bottom of each screen, and the title, 'I'm a Pioneer' remained on

the thing as well.

A deafening roar of appreciation exploded from the

audience when she finished, nearly causing her to jump out of her

skin. A standing ovation ensued, and people where whistling

loudly and cheering at the top of their voice, as well as applauding.

It was unlike any sensation she had ever felt before, and she never

felt so good as she did at that moment. Russ stood up and moved

next to Sasami and waved his hands, drawing a loud cheer, and

then he pointed both his hands at Sasami, drawing a mind-blowing

roar of shouts from the audience. He bent down, giving her a hug,

thanking her, and then she and Russ bowed to the audience. Russ

allowed her to take a seat up on stage, materializing a chair with

the snap of a finger. Aeka smiled at her sister and congratulated

her, as did everybody else, even though she could barely hear him

or her over the still approving audience.

"Up next, I'd like to invite a few more friends up here on

stage to sing as well. Little Washu! Come on up here!" he

announced, waving her up on stage and drawing a polite applause

from the audience.

Washu looked at him with horror written all over her face

as she shook her head rapidly, and mouthed the words, "No way,"

refusing to get up.

Russ smirked. "She needs a little more encouragement,

audience!"

In response, the applause nearly doubled in volume and

others started cheering. Finally becoming flustered and knowing

that Russ was as stubborn as a mule, she tossed her hands up in the

air and smiled, waving to the audience as she came up on stage.

Moving over to Russ, she whispered in his hear. "I'm going to

turn you into a water sprite once we're done here." An evil gleam

twinkled in her eye. Russ just chuckled.

"We'll do your favorite karaoke song. I like that one."

"Fine. Doesn't look like I'm getting out of this," she said,

allowing an annoyed grin to cross her face. Sasami giggled and

applauded Washu.

Russ took a seat at the organ and transferred another song

to it, then entered the title on the keyboard. 'Photon, Proton,

Synchrotron' appeared on the screen as he started playing.

Soon after they finished that piece, Russ invited Aeka up

on stage, encouraging her to sing that title she handed him about a

week before. Of course, she was shy as well, and required a little

extra incentive to get her on stage, but she eventually complied.

Russ entered the song into the computer and then typed out the

song title. 'Ojosama to Obi' appeared on the screen.

Once she was finished with that, Russ brought up Ryoko,

and invited her to sing a song from Gundam Wing, which she

learned just a few days before. The song was already entered into

the system, so he just inputted the title. 'Brave Eyes' appeared on

the screen.

Ryoko finished her song, and then Russ invited Tenchi

and Mihoshi to the stage. Entering his last song into the system

and typing out the title that read, 'Talent for Love.'

Russ began singing the song, and soon after, everybody

joined in who was on stage. Ryoko, Aeka, Sasami, Tenchi, and

Mihoshi all joined him, and the audience clapped along with them.

It was a lot of fun for that title.

They finished a few minutes later, and the audience

erupted in applause and cheers. Russ stood up and moved next to

everybody, joining hands, and all of them took a bow at the same

time as the audience continued to cheer loudly. Russ allowed them

all to step off the stage and take their seats again, and he got rid of

the microphones and chairs by snapping his fingers.

Out of nowhere, Tom tapped Russ on the shoulder and

grinned one of his little sadistic smiles.

"What's up?" he yelled.

"I want to play as well," he yelled back, entering

something on a phantom console that appeared in front of him. A

large drum set appeared on the right side of the stage. "It's time

we have some fun! You got almost a fifth of my crew in here, so I

want to entertain as well. And yes, I can play those drums over

there."

"Okay, cool! What shall we do first?" The audience

began to quiet down and look on in interest.

"Let's do a few numbers from Yanni. Let's start with

Swept Away. I don't want to play too long. I still need to drag

your butt to a particular part of the ship where your present awaits.

And I still need to chew your ass out for pulling the girlfriend thing

again."

"Sure. Did you reconfigure the system to remove the

drums?" he asked, pointedly ignoring the rest of his statement.

"Yeah. Everything is all set to go." He turned and

walked over to the drums and sat down, facing the crowd. Russ

returned to the organ and typed a few things into the keyboard.

'Swept Away' appeared on the screen.

Russ started to play, and a few moments later, Tom began

to play the drumbeat. The audience sat back and listened,

enthralled that the captain was up on stage with Russ, showing him

what he could do.

They finished a few minutes later, drawing a round of

applause for the both of them. Both participants stood up and

bowed, then conversed a few moments later. Russ grinned when

Tom whispered the next song in his ear, and he nodded in

approval. They both returned to their seats and again, Russ keyed

the song title into the system, changing the title to 'Marching

Season Live Version' on the screen.

Russ began to play, the sound of piano once again filling

the hall, and Tom began to tap the hi-hat from the drums. A few

moments later, they both got rolling and they played for a few

minutes, when Russ stopped, but Tom continued. Beating the

drums in various rhythms, then changing it to something else a

moment later, he was able to get the audience clapping with him.

Russ watched in amusement, applauding along with the crowd. He

changed rhythms again and made it sound like a railroad steam

engine was chugging down the track, and in response, Russ hit a

few keys on the organ, resembling the whistle. Again, the

audience clapped along with it, and when he finished that one, a

loud cheer came from the listeners. Resuming the original rhythm

he started out with, Russ resumed playing the piano and other

instruments that he could handle, and allowed the computer system

to play the rest. Once they finished, they drew a standing ovation

from the spectators and deafening roar of applause and cheers.

Standing up and bowing to the audience, they both shook each

other's hands.

Russ turned toward the audience. "Okay, I've done

enough for one day. Whew. Thank you so much for listening to

me play, and allowing my friends to sing, and on top of that,

listening to your captain play the drums."

The audience applauded and stood up, as most of them

began shouting, "Encore!" Both Russ and Tom looked at each

other, then back at the audience, which increased the volume of

their cheering, encouraging them to continue.

Russ smiled and looked at Tom, then nodded. They both

returned to their seats and began to play Flight of Fantasy. Once

they finished that, they moved on to Days of Summer, Desire,

Renegade, Nightingale, and a couple others. They finally finished

about an hour later. Once again, the audience gave them a huge

round of applause and cheers, and after that, began to disperse

back to their duties onboard the ship.

"Whew! That was great!" Russ exclaimed as he hopped

off the stage in front of his group.

"Yeah. I haven't done that in a while. I'm glad a lot of

people onboard this ship love music." Tom followed Russ and

jumped off the stage onto the floor.

Aeka turned toward them. "You both were great! That

was fantastic music. I'm glad I came here to listen to you play."

"We all are," Tenchi added, and the entire group nodded

in appreciation, and then gave them both their own round of

applause.

"Thanks a lot guys. Well, I'm going to go see what Tom

wants to give me, and then I'll be heading back to my quarters to

nap for a while. I want to be a little more rested once we get to

Jurai."

"That sounds good. I think I'll go back to our quarters as

well," Aeka added, drawing a nod from Sasami.

"Tom, where's your chief engineer? I'd like to talk with

him for a while," Washu asked.

"What for?"

"I'd like to see some of the technology that makes this

ship run. I may even be able to think of ways to improve your

existing equipment. After all, I am the Number One Genius

Scientist in the Universe," she cackled.

A bead of sweat appeared on Tom's head. "I suppose.

He should be in engineering, but let me check. Computer, locate

Buu George."

"Buu George is in main engineering," the computer

responded.

"There you go. I'll let him know you're coming. You're

Washu, right?"

She raised an eyebrow in response, glaring at him.

Russ nudged Tom gently and whispered something in his

ear. "Oh, yeah. You're Little Washu, right?"

"That's correct," she smiled. "And thank you."

"No problem. Come on Russ," he said, taking him by the

arm and almost dragging him out of the holodeck. "Time to have

ourselves a little discussion about women."

Russ just growled something incoherent but reluctantly

followed. "Why does everybody need to play matchmaker around

me?" he muttered to himself.

Walking back toward the hanger bay, Russ began to guess

at what this wonderful gift could be. Tom seemed to be really

excited about giving it to him as well. Continually coming up with

blanks, especially after walking past the hanger, he finally lost his

patience.

"Okay, what is it you're giving me?"

"Patience. It's in the fighter bay," Tom said, giving him a

grin.

"Ahhh, so you've also been building fighters too?"

"Yes. And at present moment, yours is the only type of

fighter in existence right now. It's just as unique as this Star

Destroyer."

"Cool. Can't wait to see it," he said, as they rounded the

corner and the bay doors opened themselves.

Rows and rows of various fighters lined the massive hold.

All types were here, except they were all imperial craft. Tie

Fighters, Tie Interceptors, Tie Bombers, and a few Tie Advanced

were visible from his current vantage point. All of them were

equipped with shields Russ saw, noticing the small out-of-place

generators on the fighters. A couple assault transports sat on the

floor, and the fighters were suspended from docking clamps from

the ceiling. All except one, which was sitting on the floor on

landing struts. Tom made a beeline directly for it and Russ

grinned widely.

"You know what this is, right?" Tom asked, presenting

him with his new space fighter.

"Of course. It's a Tie Defender. It's fully functional?"

Russ asked, examining the thing from top to bottom, checking out

the four laser cannons and the dual ion cannons on top.

"You bet. It has a hyperdrive, super heavy shields,

enhanced thrusters, enhanced engine, and many other things that

would make it impossible for a normal man to pilot the thing. I

knew how strong you were, so I modified this thing accordingly. It

can pull turns like you wouldn't believe, and it exerts g-forces that

would almost crush a normal man. I think the estimation came out

between twenty and thirty g's. Trust me, this ship is the most

advanced starfighter in existence. The only thing it doesn't have

right now is a beam weapon. I didn't want to install that without

asking you first. You can have a tractor beam, a jamming beam, or

a decoy beam. It's up to you."

"I'll take the jamming beam. Just make sure that it can

stop any kind of ship from firing, including capital ships. There

may be times I want to keep it from firing on me, but I don't want

to destroy the thing, but just prevent it from firing."

"That's what the ion cannons are for, silly." Tom

laughed, slapping Russ on the back.

Russ looked at him in annoyance. "I don't want to blow

every electrical system on the enemy. I just want to keep them

from firing."

"Whatever. I'll have that installed in about a half hour,

and then it'll be yours to take home. You won't have to travel in

that stupid little spacepod anymore."

Russ smiled with pride. "Thanks a lot man. I really

appreciate it."

"You can thank me by not pulling that girlfriend crap with

Aeka," Tom started.

Russ closed his eyes and prepared for a heated argument.

He took in a breath, counted to ten, and began his long discussion

with the captain.

Walking into his quarters, Russ saw Aeka and Sasami

both on the couch, drinking a cup of tea. He looked quite stressed

out and tired, but he managed a smile and a warm greeting.

"What did you guys talk about?" Sasami asked,

innocently.

"That's between him and Tom. Don't be so nosy," Aeka

chided her sister, resting her hand on her shoulder.

He sighed, trudging over to the chair and plopping into it.

"Thanks, Aeka."

She smiled kindly in response.

"We should arrive at Jurai in about seven hours. I'm

going to catch a few winks. You can do whatever you want.

Catch a few winks, go back to the game room, or take a walk

around the ship, but it's up to you."

"I think we're going to stay here and sleep ourselves. It'll

be early evening on the particular part of the planet we'll need to

land at, and I want to be rested enough to greet my parents and my

friends."

"I see. You need to keep up your regal appearance. Well,

okay. Go ahead and take the bed. I'll just doze off here in the

chair."

"I don't think so. You take the bed. Sasami and I will

sleep on the futons that are over there in the corner," she

admonished, pointing to the beds that were near the windows. The

colors of hyperspace still swirled past outside.

Russ growled. "Why must you be so difficult? You're

going home, and you're the princess of the planet we're going to.

Take the darn bed and sleep like a princess."

"And I wouldn't be going home if it weren't for you and

your friend. I don't mind sleeping on the futon," she retorted.

"Humph. If you're sleeping on the floor, then I will too.

There's no way I'm going to take a nice comfortable bed while the

Princess of Jurai sleeps on my floor!"

"You're being ridiculous!"

"Am I? You're the one refusing to take the darn bed!"

"Because I don't want to!"

"Well I don't want to either!"

They both fell silent and glared at each other. But Russ'

gaze softened a few moments later. "Please, just take the bed."

"No."

"Sasami, you take the bed," Russ ordered, looking at her.

She hesitated, and before she could answer, Aeka piped

in. "No, she'll sleep on the futon next to me."

"I wasn't asking YOU, your highness," Russ growled.

"I don't CARE. We're sleeping on the futons, and that's

FINAL!" she shot back, not giving up any ground.

Russ' temper was about to explode, but he allowed it to

dissolve in a few moments. "I don't get it. I try to be nice and it

always gets shoved back in my face. It's almost as if nobody

wants me to be nice or offer them things." He scratched his head.

"If you don't want to take the bed, then I guess that's okay," he

sighed in defeat.

Aeka's aggressive attitude melted away and she looked at

the floor, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten angry

with you. But you've been so nice and charitable to both Sasami

and myself, and I haven't really reciprocated it."

"I never said you had to. I make these little gestures

because I want to, and it makes me feel good when I make

someone happy," he answered, looking out the window. "When

someone is happy, I'm happy. And the way I make other people

happy is by doing things or giving things to them."

She stared at him for a few moments, and then smiled.

"Thank you. Your gestures do not go unappreciated, although

some of them were unnecessary."

"So you say. It would've made me happy if you took the

bed."

She sighed in exasperation. "Would you STOP that?" she

giggled. "You're making me feel guilty!"

Russ cracked a small grin, not meeting her gaze. "Then

take the bed."

Aeka shook her head and started laughing. "You just

don't give up, do you?"

"Nope. And by the sound of it, neither do you," he said,

turning toward her and looking her in the face.

She nodded. "Very observant."

"So you're not going to take the bed? Please?" Russ

begged.

"For the last time, no."

"Fine. Be that way." Russ stood up and went to his room

to retrieve a blanket, while Aeka and Sasami went to their futons.

They returned the two cups of tea to the replicator before lying

down. Russ returned and flopped into his chair and converted it to

reclining mode.

He looked over to Aeka and Sasami, and they were now

dressed in their sleeping clothes. Russ noticed something else too.

"Hey Aeka?"

She turned around and looked at him. "Yes?"

"Where'd you get the necklace? I just noticed it. It looks

very pretty on you."

She smiled and placed her hand over the pendant.

"Tenchi and Ryoko gave it to me a little less than two weeks ago.

They said that they knew about how depressed I was, and they

wanted to get me something nice."

"They sure do have good taste in jewelry, in that case."

She smiled and nodded. Sasami and her both laid down

on their futons, and pulled up their blankets. However, the little

princess looked a little nervous.

"Russ?" she timidly asked.

"Yeah?"

"You aren't going to pull any more pranks on me this

time, are you?"

Russ started laughing. "Thanks for reminding me. I had

forgotten all about it."

Her face flushed with fear as she looked at her sister.

"What pranks is he talking about?" Aeka asked, turning

toward her little sister.

"Well, remember that day I woke him up with the

whipped cream? Well he's been pulling pranks on me too."

"Like what?"

"Every day, for a week straight, I woke up in a different

place."

Aeka sat up and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the first day, I woke up on the couch. The second

day, I woke up on the kitchen counter. The third day I woke up in

the shed. Then the next day I woke up in the hallway outside our

room. The day after that, I woke up outside under Ryu-Oh. On

the sixth day I woke up on the shrine steps, and on the last day I

woke up on the roof!"

Aeka glared furiously at Russ, who lay in his chair,

quaking with glee and barely restrained laughter. "Don't you dare

do anything that would scare her like that again!"

"A prank is a prank. She wanted a prank war, and

unfortunately for her, she challenged the prank master," he

snickered. "But I promise I won't do anything tonight or while

we're on Jurai. Is that okay?"

"No, I want you to promise that you won't pull another

prank on Sasami again!" she demanded.

"Sorry Princess, but that's asking too much," he laughed.

She fumed silently at her bed for a few moments, when

Sasami nodded her head. "It's okay. I'm sure this isn't the last

prank I'm going to pull on him," said the little princess, winking.

"Then we have a deal? No pranks until we get back

home?" Russ asked, looking over at her.

She nodded. "We have a deal."

"Alright then. At least you're more reasonable than your

sister is," Russ snickered, causing Aeka to redden and shake with

barely controlled anger. "Well, time for bed, if that's okay with

you ladies."

"FINE," Aeka growled, laying back on her futon and

snuggling in her bed.

Pulling the blanket over his head, Russ began to drift off

to sleep. "Computer, dim the lights and block out the windows."

The computer did as it was told. "Now, play the sound of waves

crashing into the shore, quietly." A second later, the sound of

water lapping a shoreline was heard, at just the right volume level

to not be disturbing, but be perfectly relaxing. Everybody drifted

off to sleep very quickly, and Azaka with Kamidake remained at

the door, doing their ever-vigilant guard duty. Ryo-Ohki dozed off

on top of Sasami, purring contentedly.

"Russ?"

No answer.

"Hey Russ!"

No answer.

Tom started getting flustered at not getting any response

from him over the comm. system. Assuming he must've been

sleeping, an old videogame wake-up routine popped into his head.

"Wake up. Wake up WAKE UP!!!!!" Tom shouted

into the intercom. A moment later, the sound of three groaning

people gave him the response he was looking for.

"What the hell do you want?" Russ asked, irritably, still

drowsy with sleep.

"We're going to be at Jurai in twenty minutes,

sleepyhead. Get your butts up here to the bridge on the double."

"Yes master," Russ retorted, sounding like an ogre from

Warcraft II. Tom chuckled in response. "Did you already wake

everybody else up, if they were sleeping?"

"Yeah. Washu is already up here, Kiyone and Mihoshi

are on their way, and the others were taking naps like you guys

were, but they're all on their way now."

"Alright. We'll be there in a few minutes," Russ said,

yawning loudly. Tom laughed then turned off the intercom.

"Saiyans sleep like logs," Tom explained to Washu, who

watched the event with amusement.

"So it seems."

"Well," Tom began, sitting back in his chair, getting more

comfortable. "What did you and my chief engineer talk about?"

"Quite a few things. He gave me a tour of engineering,

and showed me a lot of new stuff. What really impressed me is

this ship's power source."

"You like that, eh?" Tom's smile of satisfaction grew.

"Yeah. Except I think it's a bad idea, especially if this

ship should happen to explode or if something goes wrong with the

singularity."

"Well, it's very small, but it produces an enormous

amount of power. It took quite a while to get the technology to the

point to make the singularity stable, and to be able to draw power

from it."

"I can see that. But anyway, I also showed him how to

improve some items on your ship that were rather inefficient. I

also gave him the technology necessary to integrate transporters

into this ship."

"Hopefully it is something different than what we've tried

already."

Washu's eyebrow raised a nanometer. "What do you

mean?"

"We had tried to duplicate the transporters that we had

seen on Star Trek. We did get them working, but they refused to

work correctly through the armor on this ship."

"Oh? What is this armor made out of, anyway?"

Tom smiled slightly. "Sorry, but I can't reveal that. I'll

just say that it is extremely strong against energy and kinetic

weapons, and blocks, thus far, all known forms of transportation.

It's almost the perfect armor," he said, smiling in glee.

"I'm pretty sure my stuff will work. The transporters I

invented are unlike most others."

"We'll give anything a try. It does get irritating to have to

take a transport to leave the ship," he said, scratching his chin.

Something then started nagging at his conscience. "What do you

expect as payment for services rendered?"

She waved her hand. "Think nothing of it. Just seeing

this ship, and you giving us transportation to Jurai, is more than

enough for me."

"You're very welcome."

The lift door slid open, revealing Kiyone and Mihoshi.

"Ahhh, the galaxy police. We should be there very

shortly." Tom said, greeting them with a smile.

"You do realize that you've basically broken every speed

limit the GP have a law for, don't you?" Kiyone smirked.

"You have speed limits in space? Why?" Tom asked,

amused.

"For safety, of course. There are other spacecraft out

here, you know."

"Yes, I know that. This hyperdrive is far more advanced

than you think. It takes the computer several minutes to calculate a

safe course to enter hyperspace. It checks everything between

point A and point B. And then lets us know when it's safe to go."

"Still, you should obey speed laws."

"Whatever. I'll have to exit hyperspace anyway when I

pull into a planetary system. Hyperdrive won't work due to the

gravity of the planets."

Kiyone sighed, seeing as how he missed the point. "Well,

I'm certain nobody saw us. We're moving way too fast for them to

even detect this ship."

"Yeah. I love it. Plus I could always cloak us," Tom

said, grinning.

A few minutes of silence passed and once again the lift

door opened, this time revealing the rest of the group. Katsuhito,

Tenchi, Nobuyuki, Russ, Aeka, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, Azaka,

Kamidake, and Ryoko all filed out of the lift and approached the

captain.

"Welcome back to the bridge. You all look well rested."

Tom grinned, especially at seeing Russ' annoyance, probably from

the rude awakening.

"Yes, we slept very well. When shall we reach Jurai?"

Aeka asked.

"Sakuya? How much longer?"

"I'm about to disengage the hyperdrive, sir. It'll just be a

few seconds," she answered, without turning around.

"Excellent." He turned toward the group. "Exiting

hyperspace looks sort of interesting, especially when we do it near

a planetary system. Everything starts off real tiny, but in the span

of two seconds, it gets huge."

As if on cue, Sakuya deactivated the hyperdrive and the

multitude of colors that was hyperspace faded back into a bright

starfield, and a planet rapidly appeared in front of them. They

decelerated to normal impulse speed, and approached Jurai.

Drinking a cup of tea and watching the radar screen, a

young Jurian cadet drummed his fingers on the console in front of

him. He had been on duty for the last four hours, and not one blip

showed up on the monitor. Not even an asteroid. No ships, no

shuttles, no fighters, no nothing. It was boring him to death, but it

was his duty to just sit and stare at that screen for the next three

hours. It was just boring. Boring, boring, boring. And tomorrow

promised more of the same thing.

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, then adjusting his long

white robes while brushing a stray hair out of his face, he took

another drink of tea and looked over at the guy next to him.

"Hey Asussa?"

"Yeah?" came the gruff answer.

"Want to go to the pub after work tonight? I hear they're

supposed to have some smooth samisen music there this evening."

"Are you buying? Because I'm broke," he responded,

hitting a few keys on his console and bringing up a computerized

card game. He also shifted positions and fidgeted with his robes.

"Why'd they make us wear these ridiculous clothes?" he muttered

to himself, just loudly enough for his friend to hear.

"I have no idea," he whispered back. "Why are you

broke? I thought you had a mountain of money stashed in the bank

or something?"

"Rouyu! What on Jurai ever gave you that idea? I make

as much money as you do, and we regularly blow our cash!"

"Hey you two! Be quiet down there and pay attention to

your jobs!" The commander growled. He wasn't in the mood for

any arguments today.

"Yes sir. Sorry," Rouyu responded. Then, more quietly,

he turned back to his friend. "I'm sorry about that. I thought you

were rich or something. You're always so clean and you always

have new clothes and stuff."

"Doesn't mean a thing. I just spend my money differently

than you do."

Suddenly, a huge blip appeared on radar, very close to

Jurai.

"Sir! Incoming something! It's extremely large,"

Rouyu barked.

"Well? Is it a ship or what, cadet?"

"I think it's a ship, sir. Unknown configuration. It

definitely isn't in our database."

"Can you bring it up on the monitor?"

"Yes sir. It is in visual range." He keyed a few

commands and an image of a section of Jurian space appeared on a

large screen. In the middle of the screen a huge, arrowhead shaped

vessel cruised toward the planet.

"Hmmm What the hell kind of ship is that? Open up

communications channels with that vessel."

"Yes sir. Channel open."

"Attention unknown starship. This is Jurian space traffic

controller Ubey in charge of this sector of space. Identify

yourselves."

It took a few seconds, but the cadet finally spoke. "We're

picking up an acknowledgement and are receiving a transmission."

"Put it on screen."

"Yes sir."

The screen that showed the ship faded and changed to

show the interior of the bridge. A muscular, white uniformed man

sat in a chair in the middle of the screen.

"This is Captain Thomas Franklin of the Imperial Star

Destroyer Gray Wolf. We have some passengers who would like

to make a visit to your planet."

Everybody in the room fell silent at hearing what class of

ship it was. The name, 'Star Destroyer,' sent shivers down a

couple people's spines, and a few others snickered at the title.

"Halt your ship at once and we will send out an escort

momentarily. If you do not comply, we will use force," the

commander responded, glaring at Tom.

A woman, wearing a blue, green, and purple kimono,

appeared on the screen and stood next to the captain. Her purple

hair was tied in one long ponytail behind her back, and her

amethyst eyes bored into the commander. Recognition smashed

through his head as his face pulled into utter surprise.

"Princess Aeka?!" he stuttered.

"You will grant us passage to Jurai at once."

Still in shock, he only stared at the screen with his mouth

gaping open.

"Is there a problem?" she asked, sternly.

He snapped out of his trance a moment later. "No, your

highness. No problem at all. We will have an escort to show you

to your landing pad shortly."

Tom raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Sorry, but this ship

cannot make planet falls. It must remain in orbit. Can you find me

a place above the palace where I can pull into a synchronous

orbit?"

"I'm sorry sir, but we cannot allow that."

"You WILL allow it," Aeka snapped, clearly not in the

mood to argue with some dumb lackey. "I am the First Princess of

Jurai, and you will obey my orders."

"Yes ma'am. Sorry for the misunderstanding." He

quickly killed the comlink to the ship.

"Rouyu! Inform the Emperor that his daughter has

arrived, and prepare to receive them at once!"

"Yes sir!" came the response as the cadet speedily

punched in a bunch of keys on his console, and contacted the

Emperor.

"And get those escorts out there to them!" he barked.

"Now that's how to get things done!" Tom said, grinning

at Aeka.

She blushed slightly and smiled. "Sorry about that. I've

known him for a while. He's known for giving people a hard time,

and I wasn't in the mood for it today."

Two Jurian warships came into view and sped toward the

Star Destroyer, taking up escort positions on either side of the

starship. They looked like tugboats, since they were only about a

third the length of the vessel. Both of them looked so small and

frail next to the ship, since they were composed of wood and the

Star Destroyer of steel. The captains of both vessels admired the

size of the starship, and tried to judge the new ship's firepower, in

case it became hostile. But all things considered, they didn't want

to get into a brawl with a ship so much larger.

"Well, our escorts are here," Tom snickered. "Are

those things made of wood?"

"Yes. However, that wood is considerably stronger than

you'd think. Plus our ships are shielded," explained Aeka, looking

at the two vessels, which at one point, tried to destroy her and the

Yagami.

"I guess they'd have to be to survive out here," the

captain replied. "We've never come under attack, but we've had

to navigate through an asteroid field once. We went into one

intentionally to test the endurance of this ship and the weapons.

We emerged without a scratch."

"When did you do this?" Russ asked.

"Quite some time ago. You had left to go somewhere or

meet someone, and we had finished the shields and weapon

systems, and I wanted to go test them."

"You should've had me come with you, just in case

something went wrong. I would've turned around and came back

if I had known you were just about to finish those particular

systems and were going to such drastic measures to test them,"

Russ said.

The Gray Wolf entered synchronous orbit above the

palace, still flanked by both warships.

"Well, everything turned out okay in the end. Well

anyway, we're here, so I'll have one of my pilots take you guys

down in one of my escort transports. When you guys were on your

way up here I ordered a few men to take all of your baggage to

one, so there is no need to use your spaceship. I won't be

accompanying you right away, but I'll be available at a moment's

notice if you need me." Tom smiled at everybody. "Welcome to

Jurai! Prepare to disembark!" He turned toward the spiky haired

one. "Russ! Take them to the transport. I'm sure they're already

waiting for your arrival."

Russ smirked at him and headed toward the lift, followed

by his entourage.

The trip down to the surface of Jurai was uneventful to

say the least. The transport that Tom allowed them to use was

extremely large, and was also heavily defended by the many

turbolaser turrets positioned around the outside of the ship. Escort

transports were supposed to be used for starbase construction due

to their extraordinarily large cargo capacity, but they could also be

used as troop transports as well. Needless to say, everybody had

plenty of room to sit down or stand, but the vessel didn't have

many windows to look out of. Everybody stood or sat near the

cockpit, watching the planet come into view as they sped toward

the landing pad outside of the palace.

Two fighters escorted them down to Jurai's surface. Russ

couldn't wait to take his Tie Defender for a spin, so he took that,

and another veteran pilot took a Tie Advanced. They both flanked

the escort transport on either side, keeping in near perfect

formation. However, Russ started doing weird things with his

fighter, but still keeping perfect position. He slowly spun the craft,

until he was upside down, and he flew like that for a few moments,

and then started spinning like a lathe. He eventually stopped, but

he wasn't flying straight as an arrow anymore, but instead, was

slightly wandering around his flight path, almost as if he was a

drunk driver.

They passed through the atmosphere and approached the

landing site, and the roar of the ion engines of the fighters and the

rumble of the escort transport became audible. It wasn't long

before two of the three vessels landed on their designated pad. The

Tie Advanced circled once, then headed back to the Star Destroyer.

With a loud hiss, the transport's ramp and door opened,

allowing the light of the setting sun to grace everybody's vision,

and the sweet smell of Jurai's warm air flooded the cabin,

replacing the sterile, recycled oxygen. The colors of the outside

were bright and vivid, and it caused quite a thrill for Aeka, Sasami,

and even Katsuhito, to finally be home once again.

Two white-robed Jurian knights approached the landing

pad as everybody filed out of the steel gray transport, and Russ

stumbled out of his fighter, still dazed from spinning. He shook

his head, clearing out some of the cobwebs that swam through his

brain, and he resisted the urge to throw up. Fortunately nobody

noticed him. He tried to regain his composure as he waddled over

to the group.

Everybody conversed with each other, not yet noticing the

two knights that stood a dozen feet away. However, Sasami turned

toward them a moment later, and recognition spread across her

face as she ran over to the one with the blue buttons.

"Azaka!" she shouted, wrapping her arms around him as

he knelt to receive her, returning her hug warmly. "It's so good to

see you again!" She let go of him and gave the knight in red

buttons a hug. "You too, Kamidake!" Her face beamed with pride

and happiness.

"Hello, Princess. Welcome back to Jurai! I must say it is

a pleasant surprise to have you come back home, even though it

was unannounced. We sorry that we didn't have time to properly

receive you," Azaka said, standing up and patting Sasami on her

head.

Aeka smiled at the two Jurian knights and shook her head.

"Don't be concerned about that. I'm just happy to be back home

again." The Crown Princess of Jurai walked over to the human

Azaka and Kamidake, and gave them both a warm hug. "It's good

to see you two again."

"Likewise, Princess. You seem to have brought a large

group with you this time. Lord Yosho also came with you, I see,"

commented Kamidake. "And I see a new face as well is he

alright?" he asked, looking at the Saiyan, who was still trying to

stand up straight. He had a green tinge about his face too.

Aeka looked back at him and started giggling. "He was

doing stunts with his fighter. It's no wonder he's sick."

Russ took in a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly,

and his skin complexion returned to normal. "I won't be doing

that again anytime soon," he groaned to himself. Suddenly feeling

he was the center of attention, he blushed lightly and chuckled to

himself. Not wanting to be rude, he made his way over to Azaka

and Kamidake and introduced himself. "Hi! I'm Russ. How are

you guys doing?"

"We are well. Thank you, Russ. It's nice to meet you."

Azaka extended his hand, which Russ took, but an overwhelming

sensation slammed through Azaka's mind. He trembled slightly at

the knees and looked into Russ' face with almost complete shock.

Upon grasping Russ' hand, he felt an awesome rush of

raw power emanating from the newcomer. This power was

incredible, and unlike anything he had felt before, except when he

fought the dark knight, who was under the rule of Kagato.

However, this power was different from theirs. It wasn't bound to

anything, for one. Not like his power, which relied on Jurai, or the

Jurai Power. Russ' energy was similar, but not exact. And even

though Russ was holding back and letting out a very mere portion

of energy, it was still overwhelming to him.

Noticing his compatriot's face, Kamidake moved over to

his side, concerned for his friend. Russ also bore a look of

concern, wondering what happened. He quickly released his hand

and Azaka staggered slightly, and then recovered, shaking his head

in disbelief.

"Are you alright, Azaka?" Kamidake asked.

"Yes." He looked into Russ' face, still feeling blown

away by the energy he sensed. "That is some incredible power you

have there. Almost overwhelming, as a matter of fact." Azaka

stood on his own now, no longer being supported by his

companion.

"I'm sorry about that. I thought I was holding back

enough power. I'll bring it down to that of a normal human."

Azaka watched as Russ concentrated a moment, then smiled.

"Kamidake?" He extended his hand toward the other knight, who

looked on him skeptically. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean

any harm." Russ kept his arm outstretched.

Kamidake carefully took his hand, and didn't feel

anything out of the ordinary. "No harm was done. It's a pleasure

to make your acquaintance." They shook hands, and then

withdrew.

Everybody else greeted the two knights warmly, as a

variety of hugs and handshakes took place. They conversed for a

few more minutes, and then the two knights led them inside the

palace to see the two Empresses and the King of Jurai.

Slowly making their way down the aisle of the throne

room, they stopped about a dozen feet away from the steps to the

throne. Most everybody knelt, except for Aeka, Sasami, and

Yosho.

A stern faced man sat on the throne, glaring down at all of

the arrivals, clothed in ornate robes, his purple hair and beard

hanging in three perfectly vertical lines. A blue haired woman

stood to his right, who almost looked like Sasami's clone, and a

dark haired woman stood to his left, both of them radiating their

extreme happiness.

Misaki couldn't contain herself anymore and she made

her way down the steps, and crushed Sasami in one of her famous

hugs. "Sasami!!"

"Mommy!" Sasami hugged her mother in return, as both

of them shed tears of joy.

After a moment, Misaki returned to her feet and looked at

Sasami's sister. "Ahhh, little Aeka!"

Aeka shuffled her feet slightly and drummed her fingers

together, trying to avoid what she knew would probably be

coming. "It's been such a long time since I've seen you last,

mother. I'm very glad to see you doing well."

Misaki's happiness melted away and her eyes narrowed

viciously, promising a gruesome fate to her daughter.

Aeka perspired heavily, then glanced over her shoulder.

Ryoko was snickering lightly, and everybody else just looked on in

amusement. She sighed in defeat and drew in a deep breath. "My

Mommy!"

Everybody in earshot facefaulted, except for Yosho and

Sasami.

Instantly going from a look of death to a look of near-

bliss, she crushed her daughter in a hug. "Aeka! It's so wonderful

to see you again!"

"Oh Mommy!" she cried, holding her with tears of

happiness streaming down her cheeks. "It's so good to see you

again! I've missed you!" She continued to sob into her mother's

shoulder as Misaki held her daughter tightly. Funaho made her

way down the steps and gave Sasami a hug.

"Auntie Funaho!"

"Sasami!"

They both gave each other a warm, comforting squeeze,

both very happy to see each other again.

The pleasantries continued for a few more moments as

Misaki's super hugs crushed everybody, and then got a pleasant

handshake from Funaho. Except for Yosho, who she hugged

warmly, then glared at menacingly, ready to give him a harsh

tongue lashing for not coming to see his poor mother in so long.

Eventually the two Empresses set their sights on Russ,

who was standing a few feet behind everybody, his hands folded in

front of him, as he looked at the floor.

"Who is this?" Misaki asked, giving him a good looking

over and nearly drooling at his muscular physique.

"Mother, this is Russ. He is the one who made it possible

for us to come home so quickly," Aeka explained, introducing him.

Her eyes lit up like the sun back on Earth. She grabbed

him in a bear hug, trying to crush him like she did with everybody

else. "Thank you for being so kind to Aeka and Sasami, and

bringing them home to us! I don't know how to thank you!"

Russ looked down at the top of her head with his own

head beading with perspiration. "It's okay. It was no trouble at

all."

Funaho made her way over to him and bowed

appreciatively. "Really. We appreciate all the trouble you went to,

to bring our daughters and son home."

Russ shook his head and gave up. "You're welcome. It

was my pleasure. My friend is still in orbit. Will it be ok if he and

some of his crew come on down to see the Startica festival? That

is why we all came."

"That will be no problem at all. Your friend is welcome

to come down here with as much of his crew as he wants," Funaho

said, smiling. Azusa, however, glared at the newcomer, and

remained silent.

"Thank you. I'm sure he'll appreciate a vacation. His

whole crew won't come down at once, but probably about half will

at a time. Maybe less, depending on how many people want to

go." Russ noticed the hard stare from Azusa, and he returned it

with his own emotionless look.

Misaki finally let go of him and stepped back, smiling,

until she noticed what direction Russ was looking off to. She

turned around and saw her husband continuing to rudely stare at

him, not having said a word the entire time everybody came inside

the throne room.

"Honey, what's wrong? Stop being so rude and introduce

yourself to this handsome young man!" Misaki demanded. Funaho

nodded beside her, also frowning at her husband.

A quiet growl was released from the king, but he rose to

his feet and came down the steps. Turning his attention away from

Russ, he bent down and gave Sasami a warm hug, and then he

nodded toward Aeka, proceeding to give her a hug. He glared at

Tenchi, but nodded, and continued through the group in much the

same fashion, until he got to Russ. Continuing to give him a hard,

cold, emotionless stare, he still didn't say anything, not even a tiny

greeting or acknowledgement. He simply turned around and

walked back to the front of the group. Russ stared after him,

immediately not liking him in the very least. He clenched a fist at

his side and resisted an urge to tell the king off, but thought better

of it and remained silent.

Misaki and Funaho watched the little scene play out

before them, not understanding what their husband had against the

newcomer. Deciding to ask him about it later, they remained silent

as well.

"Welcome home, Aeka, Sasami, and Yosho. We will do

our best to make your stay a most pleasant one," the king

announced, maintaining his scowl. "My servants will show you to

your rooms. Your luggage should already be in several of them. If

you'll excuse me, I have some urgent matters that require my

attention." He turned and went back to his throne as everybody

filed out of the hall. Misaki and Funaho tagged along, with Misaki

walking next to Aeka and Sasami, and Funaho walking between

Aeka and Yosho.

Azaka and Kamidake followed just behind the group.

However, Azaka's eyes never left Russ for very long. He still

couldn't believe the incredible amount of power coming from him.

And he said he wasn't releasing that much either. Hoping that

Russ would give him a demonstration later, he decided to ask him.

"Excuse me, Russ, but I have a question I'd like to ask

you," he started.

Russ slowed down a little and walked next to the knight.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, smiling.

"Could you show me your full power later today? What I

felt from you when I shook your hand was extremely high. I'm

just curious to see how much power you really have."

Misaki heard the conversation from behind them. "Russ

can summon energy too?"

The Saiyan turned back toward her and nodded. "Yes I

can. But I don't want to reveal my full potential. There is no need

for me to, for one thing."

Upon hearing this, Misaki's look of surprise turned to a

frown. "I want you to show me your full power," she decreed,

regally. "I want to see what has Azaka so concerned or

impressed."

"I'm afraid that's a bad idea," Russ said, nervously.

Misaki's glare became more intense. "I said I want to see

your full potential."

Aeka turned around and looked at him. "You better do as

she says," she whispered to him. "She's not one to gives up at all."

Russ shook his head. "No. I'm sorry."

Misaki looked about ready to explode, but Russ just

looked at her with his poker face, not revealing the nervousness he

felt from seeing her fury. She clenched her fists at her sides and

gave him her most disapproving stare, one that brought sweat

drops to everybody's head that was watching and listening to the

Empress stopped and got right in Russ face

and demanded once more that he reveal his power to her, which

was again pointedly and politely refused. Everybody else stopped

walking down the hallway as well, wondering what was going to

happen.

On impulse, she reached out in an attempt to snatch him

by the ear and drag him to the training room, but she grabbed

nothing but air. Russ was now standing next to Kamidake as he

watched Misaki's expression go from a frown to one of pure

surprise. She looked to the right, and then to the left, where her

gaze landed on Russ again. Azaka and Kamidake both shared

Misaki's bewildered expression.

"How" she started, then she resumed her glare and

made her way over to Russ again. "You're coming with me,

young man, to the training room. Now."

"I'm not revealing my full power. And no amount of

threats will change my mind, either," Russ grumbled out, still

looking at her with a poker face.

Suddenly, her gaze softened and she smiled. "I've never

known anyone to be brave enough to defy anybody in the Jurai

Empire. If I ask nicely, will you show me your potential?"

Russ looked at Aeka, who's expression told him to stop

being so thickheaded and stubborn. He sighed, and shook his

head. "I'm sorry, but revealing that much power is not a good

idea. I only do it when I do extreme training or when I have to

fight."

Misaki's eyebrow arched dangerously as she continued to

scrutinize his last statement. "If I show you mine, will you show

me yours?"

"You just don't give up, do you?" Russ grinned and

shook his head.

"No. Never. I always get what I want, from anybody I

want."

"There is a first for everything. Unfortunately, I'm sorry

to have be the one whom you do not get what you want."

She finally sighed and shook her head. "You're stubborn,

just like Aeka."

"Almost as stubborn," he grinned, drawing a glare from

Aeka. "I've had the honor of staying in the same house with

Tenchi and his family for about two weeks," Russ revealed. "I'm

only there at planet Earth to defend it against a very powerful

enemy, but I don't want to get into that right now. We're here to

enjoy ourselves, and I always wanted to visit Jurai and see the

Startica festival."

"The festival begins the day after tomorrow," Funaho

explained. "Why did you come so early?"

"I wanted to tour the planet and take in as many sights as

I could. Plus I figured a family reunion could be in order if we

arrived early." Russ smiled meekly.

Misaki's eyes lit up once again as she smiled. "You are

so thoughtful!" she cried, grabbing him in another hug. Russ

resisted the temptation to zanzoken away, wondering if she was

going to try to drag him to the training room again. He decided

that he might go there later, but only to exercise, and maybe spar

with some of the Jurians. Russ and the group resumed walking

toward their rooms.

"Have you guys eaten?" Funaho asked, hearing a couple

stomachs croaking in the group.

"No. We slept most of the trip and we've only been

awake for about forty-five minutes. We didn't have time to grab

ourselves something to eat," Sasami explained.

"Then I must insist that you attend dinner with us."

Misaki turned toward Russ. "I'm sure I won't get an objection

from you for THAT demand, now will I?" She elbowed him in the

stomach and laughed.

"Nope. No objection here." He smiled in return.

"Excellent! Dinner is being prepared as we speak. We'll

call for you once it's ready." Misaki stopped walking. "Here are

your accommodations. Aeka, Sasami, we saved your rooms.

They're just as you left them."

"Thank you, mommy!" Sasami said, smiling up into her

mother's joyous face.

Everybody filed into his or her own separate rooms,

which were simple, but comfortable. They all contained a large,

soft bed, and each room had dressers, chests, a mirror, and mostly

standard bedroom amenities. Every room had a large window that

provided a grand view of the surrounding area, and let in plenty of

outdoor illumination.

Only a mere fifteen minutes after everybody got

themselves settled in and took a quick shower, a servant came to

everybody's door and informed them that dinner was going to be

served shortly, and that every person was invited to attend. Of

course, the invitation was accepted immediately and they all

followed the servant to the royal dining room.

It was extravagant. A white marble table, some fifty feet

long and ten feet wide, if not larger, sat in the middle of the room,

surrounded by a huge number of gorgeous Jurian wood chairs.

Wood pillars made from the most skilled craftsman on Jurai lined

both sides of the room, stretching up to the extraordinarily high

ceiling. Windows with beautiful colored glass were spaced evenly

throughout the rectangular room, letting in a stunning array of

colored light, and the trees outside caused the light to dance around

the floor. The floor itself was made of beautiful wood tiles that

were laid out in an overwhelmingly complex, but amazing and

wonderful patterns. It was a dining hall fit for kings and his

guests.

Aeka, Sasami, and Yosho all entered, already knowing

what to expect, but everybody else stopped and gawked at the

room, overwhelmed by the sight of it. Not even Russ couldn't stop

staring at the sheer magnitude of the place.

Emperor Azusa sat in his huge throne-like chair at the

head of the table, flanked on either side by two smaller chairs,

which were for his two wives. Filing inside and taking seats near

the king, he greeted them with nothing more than a nod. On the

right side of the table, Aeka took a seat closest to her father and her

Aunt Funaho, and then Yosho, Tenchi, Ryoko, Washu, and

Kamidake. On the opposite side, Sasami sat nearest to her mother,

and next to her sat Ryo-Ohki, and then Nobuyuki, Kiyone,

Mihoshi, Russ, and lastly, Azaka. Aeka's two guardians, Azaka

and Kamidake, flanked both sides of the entrance, guarding the

entrance to the room.

The servants had already laid out the necessary utensils

for eating the upcoming meal. A pair of chopsticks for each

person, a cloth napkin, a plate with a bowl sat on top of a beautiful,

light gray, cloth placemat. Six forks and five spoons sat on either

side of the plate, made of gleaming silver metal, and a crystal wine

glass sat behind the plate and bowl.

Russ sat down and perspired lightly, as did everybody

else who weren't used to eating high class. Sasami and Aeka

giggled across the table, watching everyone's changing

expressions.

Russ turned toward Azaka. "Is this all for me?" he

whispered over to him.

"Yeah," he answered quietly. "Just start from the outside

and work your way in. They serve multi-course meals here, which

is why you have so many utensils."

"Okay. What's for dinner, anyway?" Russ asked, not

trying to be discrete anymore.

"I'm not sure. We'll have to wait and see," Azaka

replied.

Azusa straightened up a little and leaned forward slightly.

"So Aeka, why did you decide to come back home, unannounced?"

The princess blushed slightly and shrugged her shoulders.

"It was kind of sudden, and I didn't think about contacting you

when we made plans to come to the Startica festival. I thought it

would be a nice surprise for you and mother."

"I see," he answered, gruffly. "How long did it take you

to get here?"

"A little less than twelve hours, once we got underway."

Azusa's eyes widened considerably as did Azaka's,

Kamidake's, and both empresses. "Only twelve hours? No ship

can travel that fast," Azusa's surprise turned into a frown of

disbelief.

Aeka looked over at Russ, who was also frowning at him,

mainly for doubting the truthfulness of his own daughter. She

turned back toward her father. "It's true. We came from Earth to

here in a little less than twelve hours. The ship we used to come

here is currently in orbit above the palace."

"I'll have to see this vessel after dinner. Anyway," his

gaze softened ever so slightly. "How have things been with you?"

"Great! All things considered, I've been doing very

well." Aeka smiled widely and sweetly, causing the Emperor's

usually tough features to soften a little further.

"Have you and Tenchi been getting along well?" he

asked, eyeing the young Jurai prince with contempt.

"We're not in love, if that's what you're asking. We're

only friends. Ryoko is his...." she trailed off, wondering how she

should describe the relationship between the two.

Azusa almost let out a sigh of relief. Almost. However,

he did smile. "I'm happy to hear that you're happy. Sasami?

How about you? Have you enjoyed living on Earth?"

"Oh yes," she answered happily. "Everything has been

just perfect back home." The Emperor's eyebrow rose at hearing

her call the Earth her 'home.' He wasn't happy about that at all.

"You are home, Sasami. Jurai is your home, not Earth,"

he told her, sternly.

"But, I've lived there for almost a year and a half! It's

been my home for all that time," she answered him, wondering

why he was being so mean. "And I want to go back home once the

Startica festival is over with."

The Emperor furrowed his eyebrows together and allowed

his temper to almost get the best of him, until Misaki put a hand on

his shoulder. "She is right. The Earth has been her home for all

that time, so technically, it is her home. But let's talk about

something else," she said, preparing to change the subject. "So

Ryoko and Tenchi are lovers now, is that it?"

Tenchi and Ryoko blushed slightly at being called that,

but they both nodded a yes. They continued to smile shyly as they

looked at each other, filled with love.

"Aww. Aren't they cute together?" she said, clasping her

hands.

After a few more moments of embarrassing the two, the

first course of their meal was brought to the table. To start, they

began with a light, green salad, and a variety of dressings to choose

from. Sasami and Aeka both chose a traditional Jurian dressing,

but everybody else struggled with the variety, especially Russ.

There was a bowl of each dressing brought out for

everybody, and you were able to pick the one you wanted. Russ

took his fork and carefully dunked it into each dressing, tasting it

to see if it suited him, and cleaned off his fork after each test. He

eventually came upon one that tasted very similar to the Bleu

Cheese dressing he loved so much back on Earth, so he picked that

and drizzled it over his salad. Everybody else followed Russ'

example, and dunked their forks in each variety of dressing, tasting

it to see if it suited their fancy.

The salads disappeared after a few minutes, except for

Russ', which vanished in about two seconds, his plate scraped

clean. Both Azaka and Kamidake stared at him with mixed

motions, and having various phrases run through their minds.

Ones like, "Did he even taste it?" or "Geez, he must've been really

hungry," ran through each mind.

Russ laid his fork down in its original place, folded his

hands over his lap, and patiently waited for the next course in the

meal. He remained quiet and self-conscious, until Misaki noticed

he didn't have any food in front of him.

"Didn't they give you a salad, Russ?" she asked, watching

him with eyes that matched Aeka's eye color.

"Yes. It was very good. Thank you," he answered

quietly, looking down toward the middle of the table in front of

him.

"Would you like more? We have plenty," she offered.

"No thank you. I'll just wait for the next course."

Several servants came around with bottles of wine, and

poured each person a glass. Upon reaching Russ and asking for his

glass, he politely refused and asked if they had anything non-

alcoholic. The waiter looked at him strangely, and then offered

him sparkling red grape juice, which he accepted with gratitude.

Aeka couldn't help but giggle at his morals, which she

figured were just a little high strung. Even though she was mostly

a casual drinker, she didn't see a problem with having one or two

drinks at dinner, even if a person didn't consume alcohol regularly.

Tenchi was about to object as well, but Ryoko silenced him before

he spoke.

The next course of dinner was brought out promptly after

the last person finished his or her salad. Three varieties of miso

soup were brought out to the table, and three clean bowls for each

person. Everybody helped themselves to the soups, and consumed

it speedily. Compliments went around the table and idle

conversation ensued, but again, Russ remained silent, since nobody

was really talking directly to him. Azaka and Kamidake noticed it,

and decided to try to break the ice with him.

Azaka went first. "So, what race are you?"

Russ turned toward him. "I'm known as a Saiyan, or

Saiya-jin. We're a very rare people because of a catastrophe

almost ten centuries ago."

"I see." Kamidake nodded his head. "I've never heard of

that race before. But from what Azaka told me, you are a very

powerful individual. Tell me, how do you control the amount of

power you use? That's something we really don't have much

control over."

"It's a learned ability. It takes a little concentration, but I

can use as much or as little energy I need to get a job done. It also

makes it useful to be stealthy around individuals who can sense a

power level, like myself."

"You can sense energy coming from people without a

device?" Azaka asked.

"Yes. I can sense your energy, Kamidake's energy, the

Empresses, the King, and the others around the table who possess

the Jurai Power," Russ told them. "A couple people here can do

that too. Can't you guys?"

"Yes, but we're surprised someone else, who isn't a

Jurian, can. Have you been in many fights?" Kamidake asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. I've had my fair share of battles.

None of them were pleasant. I've always tried to fight the good

fight, but it hasn't been easy." Russ thought a moment. "Hey,

how come you guys are named Azaka and Kamidake, and Aeka's

two guardians is also named that?"

"It's a long story." Azaka said, looking down at his

empty soup bowl. "It wasn't very pleasant, either."

"I'm taking that it had something to do with the Kagato

who took over the throne of Jurai?" Russ mussed, looking across

the table at Kamidake, who fretted slightly.

"Yeah. It was a grueling battle that we nearly lost, but all

of us came out on top in the end," Azaka said, proudly.

Russ smiled. "Then it was a good battle. Hard fought

victories are always the best and most satisfying." He sighed and

looked toward the cook's door, which had just swung open, and a

bunch of servants exited, each holding a try of food. "Here comes

course three," Russ said, his mouth salivating in anticipation.

An hour later, everybody finished their meals and idly

chatted with each other. Russ mainly conversed with the two

knights, but that suited him just fine. He wasn't much of a

conversationalist, so it satisfied him and also made the two knights

happy, since they really didn't have many people to talk to who

knew about battles and fighting like they did. Azusa even

lightened up a little once he got a little liquor inside of him. Ryoko

overdid it again, as usual, and her face was flushed red from an

overabundance of booze in her system. Aeka was also flushed red,

but nowhere near as bad as Ryoko. Tenchi looked slightly pale,

mainly since he wasn't a drinker at all, almost like Russ. Sasami

didn't have any wine, but instead, chose the same sparkling red

grape juice that Russ drank. Nobuyuki and Yosho were also

slightly red from the delicious wine, as was Washu. The two

Empresses weren't flushed at all, since they could handle that style

of wine much better than everybody else.

The room had started to get dark a little while ago, so the

indoor illumination kicked in, keeping the remaining light in the

dining hall constant. It wasn't long before the night insects started

singing their songs outside of the windows.

The Emperor finally stood up and smiled. "Thank you for

coming to dinner," he said, swaying slightly from side to side,

trying to keep his balance, however, his speech remained clear and

commanding. "I hope you find your accommodations adequate for

your stay. Tomorrow, you all can do as you please. The day after

is when Startica begins, and you're all welcome to attend that."

A chorus of gratitude came from everybody who was

seated at the table. "Now," Azusa began, placing a hand on the

table to steady himself. "I must go to bed. I have an early start

tomorrow, and I'm going to have one heck of a hangover."

Everybody laughed in good humor, and he stumbled his way back

to his bedchambers, letting out a hiccup before he tried fumbling

for the door handle. Everybody else stood up and said their

goodnights, and proceeded back to their own rooms for a night of

restful slumber. All except for Russ, who walked outside the

palace and stood in the warm, moist air. Walking down the steps

and making his way over to a nearby garden, he took a seat on a

bench and looked up at the night sky, admiring the two moons that

were eclipsing each other. The sky was filled with stars, and he

could even see a beautiful red and violet nebula. He continued to

sit there, taking in his surroundings, and he didn't notice Misaki

walk up to him.

"Hello, Russ," she greeted him, quietly.

He jumped slightly from being startled, but he calmed

down and smiled up at her. "Hi. Is there something I can do for

you?"

Surprised at his assumption that she wanted something,

she shook her head and laughed. "No. I just happened to see you

come outside and sit down here on the bench. You looked lost in

thought."

"No. I was just enjoying the scenery and air of your

planet. It's the first time I've been here, and I didn't want to miss

anything." He looked back toward the sky and inhaled another

deep breath, releasing it slowly, through his nose. Surprisingly, his

allergies didn't bother him at all so far.

Misaki smiled warmly. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"No, go right ahead." He scooted over a little and she

took a seat next to him. They both sat in silence for a few

moments. "It's a beautiful night."

"Yes it is. I like to come out here at times and sit here on

the bench, and just think. It's quiet and very relaxing. It's a good

thinking spot." She gazed up at the nebula that Russ looked at a

few moments ago. "Russ?"

"Yeah?" he answered, turning toward her.

She looked directly into his black eyes. "What do you

think of Aeka?"

Russ nearly fell out of his seat at her directness. "W

What do you mean?" he stuttered.

"Do you like her?"

Russ sighed. "Only as a friend. Nothing more."

Misaki looked slightly hurt. "Do you think there is a

possibility of anything more growing from your friendship?"

Russ looked down at the soft, green grass just in front of

his feet. "I don't know. I've never been in a relationship before.

I've avoided all attempts at a relationship with anyone."

"How come?"

"I don't know. I guess I'm afraid of rejection or

something. I really don't know how to explain it." Russ shook his

head, not meeting her soft gaze. "I've seen a lot of relationships

go sour and the heartache it causes. Some say that it is better to

have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. I don't think I

agree with that."

Misaki became thoughtful. "That's an interesting piece of

philosophy." She scooted a little closer to the Saiyan and she

lowered her voice a notch. "Aeka seems to like you, you know."

Russ nodded. "I thought she was becoming a little

attracted to me. But I don't want that. I just want to be friends.

That's all I ever want."

"Aeka isn't like other girls. She's special, in her own

way." Misaki sighed and continued. "She told me a little bit about

you and why you came to Earth. I must say that you're very brave

and very heroic for always fighting for good. Knowing you could

die and sticking to the fight is the sign of a true hero." She looked

over at Russ, who was looking in the opposite direction. She

began to wonder if he was paying attention, so she poked him in

the arm. He turned toward her and met her gaze. "I want to thank

you for protecting my daughters and everybody else in the

universe. If this Zorpheus became immortal, he would be

unstoppable. It seems the only person who is in his way, that

could make a difference, is you. I want you to know that if you

need any help, any help at all, you let me know, okay?" she said,

firmly.

"Thank you for the gesture, but there is nothing you can

do. I must do this alone. And I cannot let myself become

sidetracked with a relationship until this trial is over. I'm sorry. I

don't mean to hurt Aeka if I have already, but I just can't. And I

won't let myself, either." His face became downcast. "I'm

actually a very cold person emotionally. Usually I'll tell a person

straight out what I mean or want. I'm very clear-cut about such

things, and unfortunately, even if something comes along that

would hurt someone else's feelings, I still will tell them whatever it

was. I don't beat around the bush and I'm blunt at times,

depending on the situation and how I feel at the time. I've hurt

people in the past, and I will not do that to Aeka or any of her

friends. I try to stay away from them as much as possible, so I

don't disrupt their lives, and I bury myself in my training."

Misaki listened to him explain all of this, and nodded her

head. "I do see what you mean. But Aeka tells me differently.

She says you're very warm and caring, compassionate, and fun to

be around. Not only that, but she thinks you're handsome. That's

quite a compliment coming from her. It's rare she finds someone

that she really likes, and she likes you. You're a very lucky guy. I

sincerely hope you don't pass up someone like her. I don't think

you'll find another."

"That may be, but she may find happiness in someone

else who is more suited for her. If Ryoko didn't become fully

involved with Tenchi, she would have. He's also warm, caring,

compassionate, and never looks to hurt anybody, either

intentionally or accidentally. Tenchi doesn't seem to be shy

around women either, where I am a little." He stopped and let out

a yawn. "I don't like groups of people, even when they're close

family. I'm a loner. Always have been, and probably always will

be. I've never considered the prospect of having a companion

along the way. And I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet." Russ

fumbled with his t-shirt that he wore from Earth.

"I also want to thank you again for bringing my daughters

home for Startica. We've missed them tremendously. We did visit

last year, but it was a very short one. The King had brought Aeka

a suitor, which Tenchi defeated rather easily. They never even

traded blows." She chuckled, remembering that pink haired,

arrogant fop go flying into the water as a result from a tidal wave

from Mihoshi's shuttle. "Still, thank you."

Russ shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It was

nothing. I did it because I like to be generous at times. If I make

someone happy, I feel happy."

Misaki brightened up considerably. "Do you want to

make Aeka happy?"

Russ groaned, realizing what was coming next. "I'm

sorry, but I can't. Not now. I don't want to become attached to

her and her me, and then get defeated in the upcoming battle.

She'd never live it down and she'd probably try to save me. She

would get killed as well, and I WILL NOT allow that. Not now.

Not ever," Russ decreed, sternly. "I refuse to risk her life for

something that I need to carry out. It's not fair to her."

"It's her choice to make, you know," she said, calmly.

"And you're right. She would be by your side every step of the

way, even if it meant mortal danger. She's done it with Tenchi and

Ryoko before, and I know she'd do the same for you."

"She was able to make a difference with Tenchi. She'd

just get herself killed if she got involved with one of my issues."

"We're pretty powerful too. I don't think you're giving

her or us much credit," she accused, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I know. I've sensed your power, and I've sensed Aeka's

as well. However, in comparison, I'm far more powerful than

you'd imagine." He looked away, embarrassed that he started to

brag about his power again.

"How powerful?"

"Very powerful," he said, quietly, and looking at a bush

that was a dozen feet away in front of him. "Almost godlike in

comparison."

Misaki's eyes widened considerably, and then she

relaxed. "I see. I wonder exactly how much power you'd consider

godlike."

"Well, I have no idea how powerful your gods are

supposed to be, so I guess it's a bad analogy. Sorry about that."

He let out another soft sigh and brought his hands together to rest

on his lap. "I'm still sorry that I cannot be with Aeka. I never

wanted to hurt her feelings, and now it seems that I may."

"You should be more accepting. Give it a try. What's to

lose?" She smiled at him as a light breeze ruffled her bangs, and

the bright moonlight with the lights from a nearby path brought out

her facial features a lot clearer.

"There is a lot to lose. Besides, I get the impression that

the Emperor does not like me." Another breeze stirred his spiky

hair.

Misaki frowned. "He's always looking for a suitor who

would best benefit the Jurai Empire. He really doesn't care for

Aeka's feelings. However, I do. Her happiness means the world

to me, and that is far more important, to me, to have her smile and

be happy than to merge another kingdom or fleet of ships in with

Jurai." Her frown intensified slightly. "He can be very rude at

times, but he can be a caring father as well. He just doesn't show

it often."

"I think I understand now. Did he figure that I was going

to start dating Aeka, and that is why he already doesn't like me?

Because I have nothing to offer Jurai?"

"Probably. I haven't talked with him about it yet. That's

something that we'll discuss later. He's too drunk to make any

sense right now, anyway," she giggled. "I'm glad he enjoyed

himself at the table today. It isn't often that we see him smile and

laugh."

Russ smiled. "He just never looked my way is all. But

that's fine. I enjoyed talking with Azaka and Kamidake. They

told me a bit about that fiasco with Kagato. I'm glad Tenchi and

they were able to make a difference. I'd hate to think of what

would've happened if Kagato won." He shuddered.

"Aeka would probably be dead, as would Yosho, Tenchi,

Ryoko, and the rest of everyone who came with you today. He

was merciless and a monster." Misaki started to become enraged

at herself for not trying to stop him.

"I'm sorry for bringing that up. Well anyway," he said,

standing up. "I'm going to go back to my friend's starship that's in

orbit and let him know everything would be okay for him to bring

his crew down for a vacation."

Misaki stood up with him and looked at his muscular

frame. "You really are handsome. I can see why Aeka likes you.

I sincerely hope you consider pursuing a relationship with her. It

would make Funaho, Aeka, Sasami, and me very happy if you did.

I think it would make everybody really happy to see her in love."

Russ smiled and shook his head. "Do you have any idea

how many people have tried to get me to go on a date or get

involved with her already?"

"I'm certain that I won't be the last. Everybody wants to

see you two happy and together."

"There are better people out there for her in comparison to

me," Russ said, hanging his head. "I'm not good enough for a

princess."

Misaki got right in Russ' face. "That's enough of that.

Whoever my daughter falls in love with is good enough for her and

me. She's falling in love with you, and you think that you're not

good enough for her?" she snarled, quaking with anger. "You're

full of it. You're the type of man that most women would want to

become involved with, not because you're a warrior, but because

you CARE about other people, even more than yourself. And

Aeka brings a smile to your face whenever you're near her. I

could see that at the table. Whenever she looked at you, you two

smiled at each other. I don't understand how you could possibly

think that!"

"Because I'm a monster!" Russ nearly shouted. "I've

killed so many people and my hands are stained with blood from

every life that I took. You want your daughter to become involved

with a man who kills on a whim!?"

Misaki's gaze softened. "You did what you had to do.

What's done is done. And you wouldn't kill anybody without a

cause or justification for good. I can see that. You protect the

innocent, and that's what is important."

Russ took in a deep breath and held it for a moment, then

released it slowly, calming himself down a little. "I'm sorry, but I

don't think I'm suited to take her hand in a relationship, much less

consider making it permanent. I'm sorry for causing so much

trouble. I'll go now. Good night, ma'am." Russ started to lift off

into the air to head back to his fighter but Misaki grabbed his

ankle.

"There are no apologies necessary, Russ. I want to let

you know that you have my blessing if you decide to pursue it

further. I sincerely hope you do." She released his ankle and he

continued to float there.

"Thank you. You do me too much honor. I'm going back

to my friend's starship to tell him about tomorrow and Startica, and

then I'll be back. I also need some time to think about all of this.

Good night, and sleep well, your highness."

"You too, Russ." She looked after him as he took off to

the sky and casually flew back to the landing pad where his fighter

waited.

After a short visit with Tom, Russ cruised around in space

above the planet, thinking about his previous conversation with

Misaki. The thing that weighed most on his mind was her

persistence in getting him involved with Aeka. Everybody seemed

to be doing that ever since he landed on Earth. It was creepy. And

in truth, he was attracted to her, even though he didn't show it.

The thought of rejection or refusal was too much to consider, and it

was the last thing he ever wanted. Unfortunately, he decided the

risk was too great, and he began heavily debating with himself

whether or not to maybe move to a different part of the planet,

rather than stay with Tenchi and his family.

He rounded one of the moons in orbit around Jurai and

continued debating with himself. So what if everybody thought he

should hook up with Aeka. In the end, the choice was his, and his

alone. However, the last thing he wanted to do was make people

feel bad, no matter what the circumstance. But sometimes, it was

necessary.

Why did Misaki come out to him and immediately start

talking about her daughter? Did Aeka ask her mother to do that, or

did she do that of her own free will? Russ shook his head in mild

amusement. What mothers won't do for their children. It was

touching, to say the least. She wants her daughter to be happy, but

why choose him? Why choose a man who was as violent as they

come, and who fought for almost his entire life, and on top of that,

wasn't the same race as her? Even Tenchi was part Jurian, as he

learned a bit earlier in the day.

Russ flew his fighter over top of the Star Destroyer in

front of the bridge, doing a wing-wave as he soared by. The two

warships had gone off somewhere else, so it was now alone.

Didn't matter anyway, since it was far more powerful than those

other vessels.

Thinking about what would happen if he did become

involved was very appealing. He thought about what would be his

first kiss and the first time he would make love with such a

beautiful woman. Quickly shoving those thoughts into the back of

his mind, he shook his head. It was time to get his mind out of the

gutter. But still, wouldn't it be nice to have her by his side,

smiling that gorgeous smile of hers, with her sister at his side as

well? Having her touch and sweet voice lull him to sleep at night?

And possibly having her comfort him when he was feeling down?

All of it was tantalizing and appealing, but he figured that it just

wouldn't work. Aeka was royalty; Russ was a barbarian of sorts.

It just wouldn't work. Or if it did work, the relationship would just

be too rocky, he thought to himself. They were too different to be

compatible with each other.

Tenchi and Ryoko both entered his mind. Those two are

different like night and day. Tenchi was raised as a normal

earthling, going to school and doing his chores like everybody else.

Ryoko, on the other hand, was a most wanted space pirate at one

time. She was violent and had killed many, but Tenchi had never

harmed a fly in his entire life. How in the world did they become

so attached to each other? It didn't seem possible. Those two

seemed to be made for each other, but what about him and Aeka?

Could the same type of relationship work between them?

Russ shook his head and turned his fighter around, and

made another pass near the Star Destroyer, just a few dozen meters

away from the hull. He circled around and flew past the docking

bay, and came around on top once more. A small flashing light on

one of the consoles caught his attention. He had an incoming

transmission.

"Russ! What are you doing?" came Tom's voice. "Quit

buzzing us, okay? You're making a couple people nervous."

"Oh, boo hoo. Come on out here and make me," Russ

challenged with a snicker.

"Hmmm, so you think you're a good fighter jock now, is

that it? I think I'll have to come out there and teach you a lesson,

rookie." Russ heard Tom give a few orders to a couple of his

crewmembers, and the starship began to pull itself out of orbit.

The ship moved out between the moons and the planet and came to

a stop. "I'll be out there in a few minutes," he informed Russ.

"Okay. See you then," Russ said, buzzing the bridge once

more. He laughed when he did, enjoying himself.

A green turbolaser blast lit up the cockpit, startling Russ

and causing him to veer off his current course. He wasn't hit and

his shields were at two hundred percent, so it must've been a

warning shot. "Oh, so you want to go up against the best starship

killer in the quadrant, is that it?" Russ said to himself, setting his

lasers and ion cannons to practice mode, which lowered their

output to almost nil. Swinging his fighter around, he opened fire

on the Star Destroyer's hull and darted away, as a hail of low

powered turbolaser bolts lit up the sky all around him. All of them

except for two missed, which rocked his fighter around a bit. His

shields were down to one hundred seventy three percent, and he

quickly shunted his laser energy back to the shields, and setting his

laser recharge rate to maximum. Of course, his shields were

actually at two hundred percent the whole time, but the computer

extrapolated what his actual percentage would've been if this had

been real combat.

Quickly dodging from side to side and avoiding the

barrage of green plasma, he turned around and charged the starship

again, and opened fire as soon as his laser cannons got within

range. Several plasma bolts slammed into Russ' fighter, causing it

to shudder violently. Still making a beeline directly for the

starship, he continued to fire and dodge, avoiding the lasers

wherever possible. Aiming directly at the bridge, Russ fired a

salvo of lasers directly in the middle of it, where the captain

normally would have been. Speedily and skillfully maneuvering

his fighter to the side, he flew under the bridge but over the hull,

keeping on a few meters away from the support structure that held

the bridge, with an enormous amount of lasers following his path.

An additional red blip appeared on his radar a few

moments later. "Ahhh, Tom's out here now. Let's see what he's

flying." Russ continued to dodge the laser bolts, which were now

becoming sporadic, and then stopped altogether. Flying under the

Star Destroyer unimpeded, he approached Tom and his fighter. "A

Tie Advanced. How quaint," Russ taunted over the

communications equipment.

"Shut up. I'm going to fry your ass. Get ready," came

the response.

Russ reset his combat computer to keep score and flew off

a ways. He came to a stop and faced Tom, who remained under

his Star Destroyer, facing Russ.

Finally losing patience, Russ slammed his throttle to full

as his fighter threw him back into the seat, accelerating at several

g's. Tom did the same with his fighter, and they both met a little

less than halfway. Just before getting in range, Russ opened fire

with his laser cannons, scoring a few hits on Tom's fighter as he

veered away. He quickly snapped his fighter back toward Russ

and opened fire with his own laser cannons, scoring a couple hits,

but being pegged a few more times when his opponent acquired

another target lock. They finally got so close together that they

had to veer off a little to avoid a collision, and they roared past

each other.

The Jurian air traffic controller noticed the two fighters

engaged in a firefight, and saw the starship taking potshots at one

of the fighters. However, they noticed none of the ships were

acquiring any damage, but they sent out the same two warships

that escorted them in earlier to make sure nothing would go wrong.

The two warships approached the battling trio and came

to a stop several kilometers away, watching their battle tactics and

estimating their firepower, which was substantially lower than they

originally expected, but much higher than their own practice mode.

They couldn't figure out whether this was their full power or not.

Continuing to watch, several more fighters launched from

the capital ship and joined in the fray, and they eventually divided

into two teams. They watched the fighters zoom all over the place,

pulling twists and turns that seemed almost inhuman, trying to

avoid laser fire or attempting to get the enemy ship in the

crosshairs.

It wasn't long before nearly every fighter onboard the Star

Destroyer was launched and a massive furball ensued. Green laser

fire lit up the sky around them, and a few spots of blue ion cannon

fire was also detected. The crowd, who was watching the group

practice, also increased in size. Five Jurian warships, multiple

cruisers, and even multiple galaxy police ships watched the fray in

amazement. A small fleet of Jurian fighters appeared a few

moments later. Finally, a communications channel was opened

from the Jurians to the Star Destroyer, inviting them to a contest to

see who was better. Of course, it was readily accepted, as all

three-dozen imperial fighters regrouped and prepared to take on

the new challengers. The Star Destroyer turned toward their

opponents as well and prepared to do battle.

A Galaxy Police cruiser signaled for the match to begin,

and a massive firefight between the Jurian military, and Tom's

Imperial forces, began. It was almost immediately decided who

would be the winner just within the first barrage. Tom's fighters

were too small, too fast, and too powerful to be countered with the

larger, slower, but agile fighters of Jurai. The capital ships

couldn't acquire a target lock on the fighters either, and they began

to get pelted under a hailstorm of green laser fire. It wasn't long

before the computer calculated that the first ship to bite the dust

was Kinto-oh, falling in just under two minutes. No losses for

Tom's team, and most of the fighters were still over a hundred

percent in shield strength. The Star Destroyer remained off in the

distance a little ways, not engaging in the fray yet.

Several Jurai fighters bit the dust at the same time as

another capital ship went down, and then was counted out of the

match. Still no losses tallied for the Imperial fighters as they

continued their vicious onslaught, shunting laser energy to the

shields or allowing them to regenerate on their own as they

prepared for another assault.

Only a mere half hour after the battle began, the

challenging Jurai fleet laid in mock smoking ruins. They were

royally trashed, and the Star Destroyer put the two Galaxy Police

cruisers that joined in the fray that aided the Jurians, to mock rest.

Zero losses for Tom and his group.

"I'm very proud of you, men!" Tom announced over the

comm. system. "That was some awesome fighting. We need to

practice more often like that instead of the holodeck. Live fire

exercises are very good for training. And thanks to the Jurians for

playing," Tom added, trying to hide his humor.

The large group of ships dispersed, and the thirty-six

imperial fighters began making their way back to the hanger bay.

"Thanks, Tom. I enjoyed that. Just like old times,

almost. Except this is far more fun than playing it on a computer,"

Russ told Tom, as he flanked the Tie Advanced.

"You're right. Well anyway, I'm going to head on off to

bed. Thanks for clearing up everything with Jurai's emperor. I

appreciate that."

"Not a problem. See you tomorrow."

"Be sure to say hi to your girlfriend for me, okay?" Tom

chuckled, poking fun at Russ again.

A loud groan answered him and his fighter shook when

Russ planted a laser blast into Tom's shields. "I've already had

enough about that for one day. You and Aeka's mother are both

trying to play matchmaker. Enough, already."

Tom laughed. "Okay, okay. You win. Talk to you

tomorrow."

"Yeah. See you later." Russ banked off and returned to

Jurai, landing on the pad where they originally disembarked. The

escort transport was gone, recalled back to the Star Destroyer.

Russ hopped out of his fighter and locked it down, and turned to go

back into the palace, but someone was standing at the edge of the

pad. "Oh no, now what?" Russ quietly mumbled to himself.

Putting on a smile, he walked over to the figure, which gradually

became clearer as he got closer to it.

"Hi. Did you have fun?" Aeka asked.

"What are you doing out here, Princess? Shouldn't you

be in bed?" Russ asked.

"I wasn't really that tired. I saw that your fighter was

gone and I got worried," she said, concerned. "After I saw that, I

talked to the air traffic controller and he said there was a massive

fight involving your friend's ship and a bunch of fighters."

"We were practicing. I haven't done that in a long time.

It was a lot of fun." Russ smiled and began walking down the

steps to the ground.

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"No. Well, a little. We had our ships configured for

practice mode. The laser bolts we fire aren't even strong enough

to phase the shields. We just keep score of how many hits we

make in comparison with how many shots we take. Plus the

computer can extrapolate how much damage we would've had."

"Did you get destroyed at all?"

"Nope. Trashed everybody who challenged me. Tom

was the most difficult target though. Even though he had the

inferior craft, he is a very skilled pilot. I still took him down,

though," Russ said triumphantly. "But anyway, I'm going to go to

bed now. Thank you for being so concerned about me."

If it were light enough to see her face clearly, Russ

would've seen her blush. "It's okay. I almost thought you ran off

after talking to my mother or something."

"Why would I do that?" Russ asked, knowing full well

why he would have. He only asked to see what she thought.

"Well, mother told me that you avoided all attempts at

relationships and things like that. Or ran away from them. I hope

you don't run away from me," she said, tears starting to well up in

her eyes. One of them trickled down her cheek. "As you know,

everybody I have given my heart to has thrown it away or rejected

it. And now, you've almost captured my heart."

"Aeka, please. I'm not the man you think I am. I may be

kind and caring, but there is another side of me which I haven't

told you about."

"I know. Mother told me about that too. I don't care

about that."

"You should. I hurt people, and I hate myself for that

which I must do."

"It's the cause that I care about. I could care less if you

destroyed a whole planet if it was evil." She looked up into his

eyes with nothing but sincerity.

"You should, though. It's a part of me that you need to

see and realize."

"I do, though. I just really hope that you eventually come

to like me as I have with you." She carefully grasped his arm and

held it, walking by his side, slowly.

Russ had an urge to pull away, but he restrained himself

and let out a deep sigh. "I don't know. I just don't know right

now. I have no idea what love feels like. Some say it hits you like

a ton of bricks, others say you never know it until you lose the

person you care about. I just don't know."

Aeka looked into his eyes and saw a war of emotions

swirling in them. "I do wish you would come to terms with

yourself and take a chance with me. It would mean a lot to both of

us if you did."

"I know. I just need more time to think about it. But

right now, it's too soon."

She giggled quietly. "I didn't mean you had to decide

NOW. Just think about it for the future."

"I have always thought about it. I've been thinking about

it since the first girl who had an attraction to me tried to get me on

a date." He shuddered. "But as of right now, I need to focus on

the upcoming task with Zorpheus."

"I understand." They walked in silence for a few

moments. "Are you afraid of what my dad is going to think?"

"No. He can think whatever he wants. He'll never

change my mind. And I won't let him control your future either,"

he said, looking into her eyes. She gasped slightly and returned his

gaze. "Everybody has a right to do as they please. I won't let

someone else dictate another person's future. That's one thing that

I absolutely cannot stand."

She continued to smile at him. "Thank you for

everything. It has been a wonderful two weeks with you, and I

hope to spend a lot more time with you as well."

Russ raised an eyebrow for a moment. "What are you

saying?"

"I'm just telling you how nice it has been since you came

to live with us. You've been so good and kind to Sasami and

myself, and everybody else. In a way, you're very much like

Tenchi. But you're so different too. But your qualities are just as

attractive to me as Tenchi's were."

Russ blushed. "Thank you, Princess."

Aeka shook her head. "Stop calling me that. To you, my

name is Aeka," she said, firmly.

"Yes ma'am," Russ said, grinning.

"Aeka! My name is Aeka! Not Princess, not Your

Highness, and not Ma'am! Okay?" she said, frowning up at him.

"Okay, okay. I was only kidding." Russ grinned down at

her.

They reached the palace entrance and went inside,

walking to their rooms.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Aeka. Sleep well, okay?"

Russ said, nodding his head toward her and pushing his door open.

"You too, Russ. Good night." She watched him close the

door and she sighed to herself, proceeding to her own room. She

pushed open her door and stepped inside, and Sasami with Ryo-

Ohki were lying on the extra bed, both sound asleep. She quickly

undressed and put on her nightclothes, then slid into bed, thinking

about what her mother told her.

"Don't worry too much, Aeka. I think he's attracted to

you as well. Just don't pressure him, and he will come around in

time," Misaki told her.

"I know mom, but when?"

"Wait until his major concern is over with. That was the

main reason he said he was going to hold off on a relationship.

Once that is over, he will make a choice. I'm confident that he

will."

"I guess you're right, mom," Aeka said, her face

downcast. "I just hope I can wait that long."

"You have before! Look at how long you waited for

Tenchi! If you truly love someone, you should be willing to wait

forever," she argued. "I will be waiting with you, Aeka. I want to

see you happy. Your happiness means more to me than the entire

empire itself." Misaki sighed. "Just be patient. He's one in a

million, that's for sure."

"Okay, mom. Thank you." Aeka embraced her mom,

letting out all of her pent up stress.

Aeka smiled to herself as she allowed sleep to take her

mind and body into a night of blissful slumber.


	11. Chapter 11

Ep 11 Reunion

I finally decided to change this silly header. *snicker*

Anyway, everybody knows the copyright information so I'll just

forgo that. The story is approaching the end. I predict

another 5 chapters, give or take 2, and that'll be it. It's

been a lot of fun writing this little saga (which is

surprising, since I have a hard time writing a 6 page term

paper!) and I hope you've enjoyed reading it too. I MAY do a

second series or continuation of the story, or I may not end

this at all. It all depends. Send all hate mail / fan mail

to .

Notice! New Website is going up for the Tenchi fans! Come

check it out at .net and sign the Guestbook,

letting me know you were there. The fanfic will also be

posted there, as will it be on the TMFFA, AND on

.net.

The light of dawn began to grace the Imperial Palace of

Jurai, and flooded the surrounding area in soft, yellow

sunlight. Morning dewdrops coated nearly every leaf of

vegetation, the night insects silenced themselves for the

upcoming day, and people all over the palace slowly woke from

their evening of slumber. Shades were drawn, windows were

opened, and beds were made, as the morning slowly progressed.

It didn't happen quite so quickly, however, in Ryoko and

Tenchi's room.

Nearly an hour after the sun came up and laid its super

bright beam of light across their room, reflecting off of all

the dust in the air, they continued to snooze peacefully,

their arms wrapped around each other, with Ryoko's head on

Tenchi's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Their covers were

strewn about the bed, a testament to their night of ravenous

passion and pleasure, and also a testament to the reason for

their continued slumber.

Several Jurian birds landed outside of their window on a

nearby tree, and began to sing amongst themselves. Their

songs were considerably different from the typical chirping of

native Earth birds, and instead, were long, warbling calls of

a melodious nature.

Ryoko took in a deep breath and unconsciously stretched

herself out beside Tenchi, and slowly opened her golden,

kittenish eyes. She smiled and pulled herself a little closer

to her lover, happily to burn away every moment of time with

him, just laying there in bed with the sounds of nature just

outside their window. She listened to his soft, rhythmic

breathing, and she smiled with satisfaction, knowing that he

fell asleep filled with contented pleasure from the night

before.

"Mmmm Ryoko" Tenchi muttered softly, a smile forming

on his lips.

She looked up into his face with her own showing nothing

but love and devotion, and she realized that he was still

sleeping. Closing her eyes, she stifled the urge to crush him

in an embrace, and instead, decided to wait to see what else

he'd say in his dream.

Unfortunately, their peaceful repose was interrupted by

a light knocking on the door and Sasami's voice on the other

side of it.

"Are you guys awake yet?" she asked quietly, lightly

tapping on the door once more.

Ryoko phased into existence in front of the entrance, no

longer nude, but now clothed in her pink and blue dress. She

opened the door, revealing Sasami and a maid at the other

side. "Yeah, I'm awake, but Tenchi is still asleep. What's

going on, Sasami?" she asked, stepping outside and closing the

door behind her.

"Oh! I'm sorry. This is the time the maids go into all

the rooms and clean them. But you can have her come back

later if you want to sleep a little longer." Sasami looked up

at Ryoko with her pink eyes and smiled. The maid standing

behind her narrowed her emerald eyes slightly, but remained

silent. Oddly enough, her maids' uniform resembled Ryoko's

old maid uniform from so long ago.

It was always like Sasami to consider everyone's

feelings before she gave an order. "You won't have to do

that, Sasami. Just give us a couple minutes to get ourselves

ready and we'll vacate the premises," Ryoko said, patting the

little princess on the head and giving her a sly smile.

"Okay. Just leave the door open once you leave so

she'll know it's okay to go in there to clean. Oh, and

breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. I hope you're good

and hungry!" she said, excitedly. "If you think the meals I

prepare are huge, wait till you see what they'll have for us!"

Ryoko laughed. "Yes, your highness. We will join you

shortly. Same room as last night?"

"Yup," she giggled.

"Alright. See you in a few minutes," she said, re-

entering her room and closing the door behind her, turning

back toward the bed. Tenchi still dozed peacefully, oblivious

to the intrusion.

Floating up into the air, she hovered over to their bed

and she watched Tenchi for a few moments more, thinking he

looked so cute and cuddly, like a teddy bear, curled up under

the remaining blankets that managed to stay on the bed. She

smiled to herself and floated directly over top of him, only a

few inches above him. She stared into his face and smiled

contentedly, knowing that she never had to worry about losing

him to some other woman, and that he was her treasure, to be

joyously plundered whenever she felt like it.

Quietly letting out a blissful sigh, she bent down and

kissed Tenchi on the lips. "Time to wake up, lover," she

whispered into his ear.

Tenchi didn't move and his breathing remained unchanged.

She smiled broadly, since she was very proud of the fact

that she had worn him out the previous night. Undaunted, she

pressed her lips to his once more and held the kiss for a few

moments, until Tenchi's body slowly shifted positions and she

felt him try to take in a deep breath of air. Backing off a

moment and allowing him to finally breathe again, she watched

his eyes slowly open themselves and a large smile crease his

lips.

Without warning, Tenchi reached up and grabbed Ryoko,

pulling her down to him with a shriek of pleasant surprise, as

he kissed her passionately, letting out a soft moan of

unmistakable bliss. He backed off a moment later.

"Good morning, Ryoko." Tenchi smiled in satisfaction.

Ryoko giggled. "Hi, sleepyhead. Did you have a good

night's rest?"

Tenchi slowly nodded. "Yeah." He hugged Ryoko once

more and kissed her on the cheek. "What a night. What time

is it anyway?"

The space pirate smiled and returned his kisses. "It's

an hour past dawn. Sasami was just here, and she told me that

breakfast will be served shortly, plus the maids want to get

in here to clean the room."

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh. Well, I guess we

better get going then." He made an attempt to get up, but

Ryoko had lain down on top of him. Instead of getting up, she

continued to lie there, grinning, as he made another vain

attempt to sit up. Smiling up at her, he gave her another

kiss. "Can I get up now?"

"Oh, I don't know. We still have a few minutes to

spare, Tenchi," she whispered seductively, winking at him.

Tenchi smiled, but shook his head. "Come on, Ryoko.

I'm hungry, and I'm sure the maid is getting impatient.

Besides, we're going to be spending the whole day together."

He thought a moment. "Actually, our entire vacation will be

spent together."

Ryoko's face went to feigned hurt. "Aw, please,

Tenchi?" she whined. "Just a quickie before we go?"

Tenchi couldn't help but laugh. "Ryoko! You're being

spoiled. Let's go get some breakfast. Please? We'll have

all of tonight to do as we please."

"Oh, but that's so far away!" she pouted. She kissed

him once more.

Even though he wouldn't admit it, Ryoko's little pouting

act was starting to turn him on, but he decided it would be

better to wait until tonight. "Now Ryoko. Be reasonable,

okay? I'm sure you're hungry too."

"No, not really," she answered.

Tenchi chuckled quietly. "I guess I'll have to find

some other motivation," he said, bringing his arms up to her

sides. He began tickling her, under her arms and down her

sides as she yelped in glee and started laughing. "Coochie

coochie coo!" he said, intensifying the motions of his hands

and laughing along with her. She squirmed fitfully and

finally her will gave out as she floated up off of him,

putting some distance between his hands and her body as she

worked off the ticklish feeling and calmed down.

Seizing the moment, Tenchi quickly sat up and covered

his waist with the blanket. He reached down to the floor and

picked up his underclothes and speedily put them on, managing

to do it all under the covers. Standing up, he looked around

for his suitcase.

Ryoko floated down from her position above the bed and

wrapped her arms around Tenchi, nipping him in the neck and

kissing him in the same spot. "You big meanie," she cooed,

and then giggled. "I've never been tickled like that before."

Tenchi looked over his shoulder into her smiling face

and gave his own satisfied grin. "Where are our bags? I

don't see them."

"I think they're in the closet over there," she said,

pointing to a door on the far side of the room. "But I think

the maids already unpacked our stuff for us and put it into

the dresser."

"Oh! Okay. Well, that makes it nice." He made his way

over to the dresser with Ryoko still clinging to him as she

floated a few inches above the floor. Opening a couple of the

drawers, he found they were empty. "Hmmm guess not," he

said, scratching his head. Changing his focus over to the

closet, he opened the door to reveal a closetful of Jurian

robes, all his size, with a note attached to one of them.

"Please wear these clothes, prince. It would make us

very happy," Tenchi said, reading the note aloud. Ryoko

frowned at it.

"Why do you have to wear these silly robes? I brought

along most of the clothes we bought together at the mall a

couple weeks ago."

Tenchi shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But we

are on Jurai, so I guess we should go with the flow and wear

typical Jurian clothing, or we'd stick out of the crowd. I

don't think I'd like being stared at because of the clothing

I'm wearing."

"I guess you're right. But you'll probably be stared at

anyway, since you are the prince," she said, causing Tenchi to

cringe slightly. She reached into the closet and pulled out a

set of clothes. The primary color was beige, and it had many

extra features on it, in various colors. "I think this would

look nice on you, Tenchi."

"Okay, I'll wear that one," he replied, taking the

hanger out of Ryoko's hand. He carefully removed the garments

from the hanger and laid them out on the bed. Stopping

himself for a moment, he turned his head toward Ryoko. "Can

you let go of me now so I can get dressed?" he asked,

grinning. "It would be pretty hard for both of us to fit in

these robes."

Ryoko squeezed him tightly and kissed him on the cheek,

then released him and floated Indian style in the air.

A few short minutes later, Tenchi finished dressing, and

they both left their room to go to the breakfast table. Upon

entering the dining room, they could see everybody already

seated around the table, except Russ was absent. Everybody

turned their attention to Tenchi and Ryoko when they entered,

and a chorus of, "Good morning," and "Hello," were said. They

took the same two chairs they had the night before and sat

down. Asuza simply glared at the two, but managed a nod in

their direction.

"You guys look very well rested. I assume everything

went okay last night?" Misaki asked from her position at the

head of the table.

"Absolutely," Tenchi answered, sharing a knowing glance

back at Ryoko. Aeka looked at the two and did her best not to

be jealous. Not because she wasn't with Tenchi, but because

she didn't have a relationship at all.

"Well, that's good. You made it just in time. The

cooks are just about finished with our meal." Misaki turned

toward the kitchen door just as it opened, and a bunch of

servants entered carrying large trays, each crammed with

heaping plates of food. The smells that followed them were

unmistakably pleasant and mouthwatering, and caused nearly

everyone at the table to begin salivating in anticipation.

"Wait a minute. Where's Russ?" Aeka asked, noticing the

empty chair next to Azaka. She frowned. "Is he still

sleeping?"

"I don't know, Aeka. I knocked on his door but there

was no answer," Sasami told Aeka as a plate was set down in

front of her. "I didn't want to disturb him if he was

sleeping."

"Why don't you go see if he wants to join us?" Misaki

asked.

Aeka was already getting up from the table. "I was just

on my way to do that. I'll be back in a few moments. Don't

wait for me."

"Don't trouble yourself. I'll send a servant to go see

what's going on," Asuza told her, gesturing with his hand for

her to take her seat.

"I'd rather do it myself, if it's all the same to you,

father," Aeka responded indignantly.

His eyebrow arched ever so slightly. "Don't bother.

I'll send a servant. Sit down," he ordered.

"But father"

"Sit down!"

Her mouth hung open for a moment in stunned silence, but

she reluctantly complied. Misaki glared at her husband and

was about to object when Asuza ordered one of the servants to

go fetch Russ. Deciding not to pursue the issue any further,

Misaki turned her attention back to Aeka, who was now picking

at her food.

"Don't worry, honey. It really doesn't matter if you go

get him or one of the servants does. Either way, they'll

bring him here."

Aeka didn't answer, but continued to pick at the food

that was placed in front of her. Everybody else at the table

didn't say anything, but kept quiet and watched the tirade in

silence.

Several minutes later the servant returned and whispered

something in the Emperor's ear, causing him to frown a little

more than usual.

Aeka looked up from her meal. "Didn't she find him?"

Asuza shook his head. "No. He's not in his room. She

looked around a little for him but didn't find him. She

doesn't know where he went."

Fear gripped Aeka for just a moment, but she told

herself she was being silly, and that he didn't actually leave

the planet. However, as she continued eating, that feeling

continued to nag at the back of her consciousness. What

bugged her even more was the fact that she didn't even know

WHY he suddenly vanished. It was strange. She decided that

when they find him later, that she'd ask him about it. But if

she did that, wouldn't he get upset over it? Why should he

have to answer to anybody? It isn't like she's married to him

or something where he'd have to answer for everything that he

does.

Funaho and Misaki both noticed Aeka's fretfulness and

the fact that she probably has just lost her appetite. They

both watched her pick at her food and continually shift

positions in her chair. Asuza ignored her, but Sasami

watched, concerned for her sister. Finally, Misaki broke the

silence.

"Go find him, Aeka, if it'll make you feel better," she

ordered. Asuza glanced up and looked daggers at his daughter,

and then at Misaki.

Aeka jumped in surprise, and then hung her head in

shame. "I'm sorry, mother. I'm being rude and selfish." She

began to eat with much more gusto, but remained silent.

Breakfast passed without much conversation from anybody.

Once they were finished, they complimented the chefs and made

a hasty exit from the dining hall. Aeka caught sight of

Tenchi and Ryoko leaving the room and she decided to catch up

to them.

"So Ryoko, what would you like to do today? We've

basically got an open slate," Tenchi said, casually walking

next to her, his robes flowing freely behind him.

"I have no idea where to begin, actually. Is there

anywhere you'd like to see?" Ryoko asked, turning toward him

and stopping.

Tenchi stopped and remained thoughtful. "Well, you've

been to Jurai more than I have, and I don't have any idea what

to do or where to go. I was hoping you'd have some ideas."

Ryoko shook her head slowly. "No. But you've been to

Jurai as well. Are you sure there isn't anything you want to

see again?"

Tenchi shrugged his shoulders. He then chuckled.

"Well, let's go that way and see where it leads us," he

announced, pointing down one of the hallways.

"That goes to the Royal Library," Aeka said, finally

having caught up with them.

Ryoko and Tenchi both turned toward her and watched her

with concern.

Aeka let out a sigh. "Would you mind if I joined you?

I can show you around the palace if you would like. Sasami

and Ryo-Ohki went off with Mother, Grandfather and Nobuyuki

went off with Lady Funaho, Father went to the throne room,

Azaka and Kamidake went off somewhere, Kiyone and Mihoshi went

off together, and Washu went to the Science Academy for the

day. I'm stuck with nobody to do anything with, unless I want

to get tortured by Mother, which currently doesn't appeal to

me."

Ryoko and Tenchi both looked at each other and nodded

their heads. "Sure. We'd be happy to have you join us. Who

better to give us a tour than the Princess herself?" Ryoko

said, smiling in a pleasant way.

"Well, let's go to the library then. Maybe there will

be something there that would interest you," Aeka suggested.

"There is probably a million books there, if not more,

covering nearly every subject you could possibly think of."

"Sounds interesting. Would you please show us the way?"

Tenchi asked.

Aeka smiled and nodded her head. "It's right over

here," she said, gesturing with her hand and slowly making her

way over to the library. Tenchi and Ryoko both followed.

"Sorry about Russ not showing up for breakfast, Aeka.

If I knew where he went I would've told you," Tenchi said,

quietly.

Aeka tensed slightly, but she seemed to shake it off a

moment later. "It's okay. He probably got up early or

something and decided to tour the planet by himself or

something. That's what he's used to."

"Yeah, but still, he should've at least graced us with

is presence at the table for breakfast. It was awfully rude

of him," Ryoko responded. "I know I'd be upset if Tenchi

didn't show up at the table, and he'd be upset if I didn't

arrive."

Aeka shook her head. "But it's different for you two."

She sighed regretfully. "I'm burdening you with my troubles.

Come on, let's forget about that for now and try to enjoy

ourselves, okay? That would make me happy."

"Yeah. Okay, Aeka. I'm sorry," Tenchi said meekly,

putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring

squeeze. Ryoko felt a slight pang of jealousy, but she

brushed it off immediately. Instead, she nodded her head

toward Aeka and smiled.

They had reached the library and Tenchi pushed open the

doors, gesturing for the girls to enter first. Once they

entered, both Ryoko and Tenchi stood, flabbergasted, at the

sheer number of books. When Aeka had said there were probably

a million books, she was vastly understating the truth.

Bookshelves reached all the way to the ceiling, which were

nearly thirty feet high. Rows upon rows of ceiling high

bookshelves lined the floor, and every single shelf had no

room left to fit another book on it. The size of the room

dwarfed that of the dining hall, and several rows of tables

were placed throughout the room, surrounded by plain wood

chairs, several of which were occupied by some of the Science

Academy students. The sight was truly breathtaking.

"Oh my god," Tenchi stuttered out. Ryoko had a similar

reaction.

Aeka turned toward them and giggled softly. "This is

the second largest library on Jurai. It's actually pretty

small by some of the other ones I've seen."

Ryoko and Tenchi both facefaulted. "You've GOT to be

kidding us," they both said in unison.

Aeka shook her head and smiled. "Well, go find

yourselves something to read. I'm going to go over here to

the romance novels to browse. I'll join you at one of the

tables. It'll give us something to do for the next couple

hours or so."

"Okay, that sounds good," Ryoko said, floating up into

the air a few inches and grinning seductively. "Tenchi? What

are you going to look for?"

"I don't know. Where's the science fiction section? I

may find something entertaining there," Tenchi asked.

"It's over there, I think," she answered, pointing to an

aisle between two rows of bookshelves. "It has been a long

time since I've been here last."

"Thanks, Aeka. I'm sure I'll find something anyway," he

said quietly, making his way over to the shelves.

"What about you, Ryoko? Anything in particular you're

looking for?" Aeka asked politely.

The space pirate froze for a moment and blushed.

"Thanks, but I can find it myself. If I don't find what I'm

looking for, I'll find it in the card catalog," she said,

smiling.

"I could easily tell you were most of the books are. It

would be much faster," Aeka said, pressing the point.

"It's okay. Go find yourself a book to read. I'll be

fine," Ryoko insisted.

"Well, okay. If you need help, just ask me," Aeka

offered.

"Thanks." Ryoko floated away and phased through a wall

of books. Aeka shook her head, turning toward the romance

novels and began to hunt down one of her old favorites.

A few short minutes later, Tenchi sat down at a table

near one of the outside windows. He opened the book to the

prologue and started reading when Aeka joined him, sitting

down in an adjacent chair, a copy of Lone Eagle in her hand.

"What do you have there, Tenchi?" she asked, not quite

being able to see the cover of his book.

"Jurassic Park. It's strange though. What is Earth

based literature doing here on Jurai?" Tenchi looked

confused, but Aeka smiled.

"Even though most people don't know it, we do have

people that go to more primitive planets, and we collect tons

of literature. Washu has done wonders for us when it comes to

Earth text."

"Oh," he said, not quite buying into the explanation,

but he had no grounds to dismiss it either. "Well, what do

you have?"

"It's also an Earth novel, called the Lone Eagle. It's

a romance novel. I've read it once before and really enjoyed

it."

Tenchi chuckled softly. "Maybe you should've tried

Heart of a Warrior. It's a science fiction romance novel. I

heard it was pretty good."

Aeka thought a moment. "I haven't heard of that one.

What's it about?"

"I don't know. I've never read it myself. Honestly, I

don't care for romance novels. I enjoy science fiction,

fantasy, and some mystery novels too. However, I also have to

read these boring books that grandpa assigns me," he grumbled.

"I've seen those. There's some interesting stuff in

them," she said.

Ryoko teleported near Tenchi with a rather large, thick

book in her hand. "Hi," she greeted them, causing both of

them to flinch in surprise.

"Hi there. What did you get?" Aeka asked, leaning

forward a bit to catch a glimpse of the cover. Her eyes

widened in shock when she read the title.

Ryoko blushed slightly. "It's for me and Tenchi. I

thought it would be neat to try some new things out."

Tenchi also looked at the cover. "A thousand and one

ways to pleasure your man?" he said aloud.

Two of the science academy students that were quietly

studying nearby looked up in astonishment, and then started

snickering. Ryoko shot them both a glare that promised death

if they continued, and they silenced themselves quickly. She

took the chair next to Tenchi and sat down.

"Yes, that's the name. I think it would be kind of neat

to try some of these new positions," said Ryoko, matter of

factly.

Tenchi groaned to himself and put his head in his hands.

Aeka did the same.

"What's the big deal? Doing the same thing night after

night gets boring," Ryoko explained, confused by their

reactions.

They both groaned again and suddenly became very

interested in their books. Ryoko shrugged her shoulders and

started reading.

"Mom? I'm hungry. When's lunch?"

Misaki looked down at her daughter and smiled. "Lunch

will be served in a few short moments. We will go to the

dining hall. Everybody should be there already."

"Yes!" she exclaimed, hopping up and down on her feet.

Misaki laughed and pulled her close, giving her another bone

crushing hug. They both stood up from the couch in the Royal

Family's living quarters and made their way out into the

bustling hallway.

"I'm so happy you all came back to see us! It was such

a nice surprise!"

"Yes mother. You've told us that a million times

already," Sasami said, rolling her eyes. "I'm happy I came

home too. It's been a long time since we've seen each other

last. But what have you been doing this whole time? I've

talked about everything I've done, but you never told me

anything about what you've done for the past year." She

looked up into Misaki's amethyst eyes and grinned.

Turning thoughtful, she placed both her hands in front

of herself and casually folded them together. "Well, really,

there hasn't been a whole lot happening, except recently for

the Startica festival. It always gets busy here in the palace

during this time of year." Not finding her new posture

comfortable, she placed an arm around Sasami's shoulders as

they continued walking. "Auntie Funaho finally finished

remodeling the Great Hall here in the palace. It turned out

really nice."

She paused, suddenly at a loss for words. Everything

that she came up with that could potentially be discussed was

shot down, figuring that they'd be of no interest to a little

girl. The merging of another kingdom into Jurai was

dismissed, as was the arrest of a petty thief who managed to

break into the palace. However, one thought occurred to her

that Sasami would find interesting.

Sasami watched her mother as she warred with various

thoughts, and she hugged her, smiling the whole time. "It's

okay, mom. You can tell me anything you like."

Looking down and smiling at the thoughtfulness of her

daughter, she decided on something funny that happened

recently. "You should've seen your father about a month ago.

He did one of the craziest things to one particular group of

people that I never thought he'd do."

The little princess smiled. "What'd he do?"

"I shouldn't tell you, since it would embarrass your

father," Misaki teased.

Sasami's eyes sparkled and begged at the same time.

"Aww, please mom? What did father do that could be so

embarrassing?"

Misaki started chuckling softly as she recalled the

event in detail. "It was so silly. You know how we must

always behave regal and proper, right? Well, one night at the

dinner table, while your father had a mouthful of wine,

someone told a really funny joke, and he actually found it

funny. So funny, as a matter of fact, that he wound up

spitting his wine all over the table."

"Oh my gosh! Did he really?" Sasami giggled and tried

to picture the event in her mind.

"Yes, but that's not all. You see, our guests were

actually small children, but they were of royalty, just like

you. Everybody was more or less intoxicated, and things got a

little more interesting as the evening progressed. One of the

kids decided to start flicking little bits of food at your

father when he wasn't looking. Needless to say, after about

four tries of trying to catch the culprit, he flung a small

amount of food at three of the kids." Misaki started

laughing. "Unfortunately for him, they all fought back, and

we had a massive food fight on our hands. We pasted the

entire dining hall with what was left of our dinner. All

twenty of our guests got involved, and your father had a

blast, as did we." The empress took in a deep breath and

calmed down a bit. "I felt sorry for the cleaning ladies once

we had finished. The entire hall was a mess, and we were

too."

"Ohhh Mooooom! You got into a food fight? How

immature," Sasami retorted, giggling. "Of course, you're not

the only one who's been in a food fight."

"Sasami! What did you do?" Misaki asked sternly. "You

know better than that," she scolded, and then broke out

laughing.

"It was all Russ's doing. I played a little prank on

him to wake him up, and afterwards when we started eating, he

started flinging rice grains at me. Well, I couldn't let him

get away with that, so I returned the favor. Ryoko started

laughing at him, and he flung a few grains at her. She didn't

take too kindly to that and she pelted him with rice grains,

and I managed to nail him too. Then Tenchi started laughing

at us, so Ryoko, Russ, and myself all pelted him with rice."

"I see I'm going to have to have a little talk with my

disobedient daughter," said Misaki, looking down at the little

princess with an evil gleam in her eye.

"But I'm not done yet. Aeka got mad at us and called

all of us immature. She then dumped an entire bowl of rice

over Russ's head."

Misaki's eyes widened in shock. "My little Aeka did

that? Seriously?"

Sasami giggled. "Yes. Then everything just went crazy

from there. It was a lot of fun, even though it took a little

while to clean it all up. We hadn't seen Aeka smile like that

for a long time."

"What do you mean?" the empress asked, now concerned.

Giving her mother a worried look, she decided to tell

her the truth, but first, a promise. "Mom? Please don't

repeat any of this to Aeka, or lead on that you know about it,

okay?"

"Cross my heart. I won't say a word, Sasami." Misaki

stopped and pulled her daughter in front of her, looking her

directly in the eyes. "What's going on?"

"Aeka has been depressed for a long time almost a year.

Tenchi had gone missing for a very long time, and everybody

spent every waking moment searching for him. When Ryoko and

Aeka finally did find him, he couldn't remember them. But to

make a long story short, Tenchi was in a different dimension

that was adjacent to our own. So close, in fact, that it

partially overlapped ours," she described, sounding like

Washu. "However, Aeka realized that Tenchi really only

responded to Ryoko, and during the final moments of that

dimension's collapse, Aeka made the choice to give up Tenchi

to Ryoko, to save him."

Misaki gasped and looked into her daughters face in

total bewilderment. "Sasami I had no idea. What else

happened?" She knew there was a reason for Aeka's persistence

for getting Russ involved in a relationship with her!! Aeka

had given up the one she loved to save him. That's her

daughter! That was the most unselfish act that anybody has

ever done, and it was her daughter that did it. Her heart

swelled with pride, but also with heartbreak.

The little princess's face became downcast and sad.

"That's basically all that happened. Aeka stopped pursing

Tenchi after that incident. She gave him up to save him. I

can't imagine the pain she felt from a decision such as that."

Sasami sniffled, becoming sadder. "I feel so bad for Aeka,

because I know how much she loved Tenchi."

Wrapping her arms around her daughter, she gave her a

warm, caring hug. "I understand a little better now. Why

didn't you guys ever tell me about this?"

Allowing herself to be held, Sasami embraced her mother

in return. "We decided to not tell anybody about it. Aeka

doesn't want anybody feeling pity for her. She's so strong."

She buried her face in her mother's robes, doing her best to

keep from crying. All the people in the hallway did their

best not to draw attention to what was going on between the

two members of the Royal Family.

"But Aeka isn't depressed anymore, is she?" Misaki

asked, very concerned for Aeka.

Sasami leaned back a little and sniffled, and then dried

her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Not since Russ came to

live with us. She thinks he's a lot like Tenchi, but he's so

different too. He's not as serious, but he's just as caring

and compassionate as Tenchi. I think that's why she likes

him."

"That's what she says." Misaki's stomach croaked

loudly, as if demanding an audience with the dinner table.

"Oh my. Lets get something to eat," she said, smiling and

chuckling softly.

Sasami smiled and sniffled once more. "I'm hungry too.

What's going to be for lunch?" she asked, standing up and

taking her mother's hand as they continued their short trek to

the table.

"I'm not entirely sure. It's probably the usual stuff.

You know how your father is," she said, rolling her eyes.

"It's almost the same thing every day. I don't know why he

doesn't get tired of it!"

Giggling softly, Sasami and her mother both made it to

the dining hall a few short moments later. Several people

were already there, sitting in their usual seats. Kiyone and

Mihoshi were already there, as was Washu, Funaho, Yosho,

Nobuyuki, Azaka, Kamidake, and Asuza. Ryo-Ohki phased through

the kitchen door with a carrot in her mouth, being chased down

by one of the chefs. He grumbled quietly to himself and

returned to the kitchen upon Ryo-Ohki's escape.

"Hi honey," Misaki greeted Asuza, taking her seat. "How

did everything go today so far? You did get all the

assimilation requests finished, right?"

Asuza nodded his head once. "Yes, dear. Everything is

going smoothly today, for once. Not a single trouble spot.

Yet."

"Well, that's good to hear. Did anything else come up?"

"Not yet. I still have to finish off a loan request

from the Galaxy Police, and that should be it for a while,

unless something else comes in." He frowned slightly and

growled something incoherent.

"What did the Galaxy Police need a loan for?" Misaki

asked, confused. "I don't remember anything about it being on

the agenda for today."

"We need the money to help fund a new spynet hardware

device we're constructing. That's about all I can say about

it for now," Kiyone explained. "It will allow us to

infiltrate gangster hideouts from a different location by a

remote controlled device. It makes it a lot safer when we go

in to take prisoners."

"Yeah! And it would've sucked the Galaxy Police's

checkbook dry if" Mihoshi started to say when Kiyone got in

her face.

"You always say too much about financial difficulties!

Leave it be!"

"Sorry, Kiyone. I didn't mean anything. It's just that

we seem to be the best at talking about financial

difficulties!" Mihoshi said happily.

Kiyone groaned in disgust and shook her head. Misaki

giggled to herself and turned toward her sister. "What about

you, Funaho? What did you do today?"

"I showed Yosho around the Great Hall. He likes the way

it was redone," she said, looking over at her son and giving

him a hard stare.

"It's pink," Yosho said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes, it's pink! What's wrong with pink?" Funaho

glared at him.

"Nothing, mother. Nothing at all," he said nervously.

He looked across the table at Sasami who was giggling. He

began to perspire lightly.

"That's what I thought. You don't like all the hard

work I put into remodeling it, do you?" Funaho said, looking

down the table and frowning.

"No! I mean, yes! I mean I didn't say that," Yosho

said quickly. "It's just fine. As long as you're happy,

that's all that counts."

"But YOU don't like it, do you?" she answered, staring

into his eyes.

"Yes, I like it."

"I think you're just being polite," she answered,

turning her nose up at him.

Yosho looked quite perturbed as his son started quietly

snickering next to him. He glared at him, promising a good

thrashing if he kept it up. Nobuyuki did manage to stop

snickering, but he couldn't help but smile. It wasn't often

that he saw his father get bent out of shape and he had to

treasure the moment.

Ryoko, Tenchi, and Aeka all entered the room, all smiles

and quietly chattering amongst themselves. Misaki turned

toward the new arrivals and smiled, happy that Aeka seemed to

be having a good time.

"My little Aeka!" she greeted her daughter. "Where were

you? What did you three do today?"

"We went to the library and read a few books," Aeka

explained, pulling up her chair on Funaho's side of the table.

"We really didn't have anything to do, so we read the entire

time."

"What did you read?"

"I read that one novel that I love," she answered, a

blissful, faraway look on her face. "It's amazing how some of

those are based on true stories."

"I see. What about you, Tenchi? Did you find anything

interesting?" Misaki inquired.

"I read Jurassic Park. I saw the movie, but never read

the book. I think the book was better," he said. "It had

more detail."

"I've never read it or seen the movie," she said,

thoughtfully. "Well, what about you, Ryoko?"

All three of them suddenly tensed and their brows beaded

with sweat. Misaki noticed it and started laughing. "Let me

guess," she said, a knowing look on her face. "It's of a

personal nature."

Ryoko let out a sigh. "Yeah, sort of like that."

"It's okay," she responded with a sly smile and sharing

a glance with Funaho. Even though she didn't know the title,

and she'd never admit do doing so, she too had read most of

the literature that was similar to what Ryoko had read.

Funaho had read most of it as well, and they both had a pretty

good guess at what it was about.

Aeka looked around the table once again. "Don't tell me

Russ isn't going to show up for lunch either!"

Once again, the seat between Mihoshi and Azaka was

vacant. Aeka clenched her fists together and stared hard at

the empty chair, as if willing him to materialize in it.

"Don't worry, Aeka. He's probably just not hungry is

all," Ryoko said, trying to calm her down. "Remember what he

told us?"

"Yes, but every time we did get him to sit down to eat

something, he ate everything! We didn't even have any

leftovers for later if one of us got hungry," she fumed. "I

don't get it. Where could he be?"

Tenchi sat there quietly and contemplated the idea for a

moment. "You know, Aeka," he began. "I'm almost certain he's

off training somewhere, and he doesn't want to be disturbed.

I'll bet that's it."

Aeka and Ryoko both fell silent. "You know," Aeka

began. "I think you're right. It makes sense, anyway. He's

got to be off somewhere doing his thing."

"Doing what thing?" Misaki asked, curious.

"He trains every day. He has a very strenuous exercise

routine that he does on a daily basis. But frankly, I don't

know how he can get into any better shape than he is in

already! Half the clothes we tried to get him to wear

wouldn't fit over his arms!" Aeka frowned and mumbled to

herself, something about Russ being pigheaded and a barbarian.

Asuza ignored everything that had to do with Russ and he

turned his attention to Yosho, preparing to discuss his

absence from Jurai.

"What does he do to exercise? How long does he train?"

Misaki continued.

"He trains for almost every waking moment! He basically

takes a break to eat or use the bathroom, and then he goes at

it again," Aeka explained. "Washu made him a gravity enhancer

to give him a more effective workout. He does almost all the

normal exercise routine stuff under extreme gravity."

At that moment, the kitchen doors opened and the

servants entered with the food, in much the same manner as the

dinner from last night and the breakfast from this morning.

Once again, everybody smiled and waited with eager

anticipation for the upcoming meal.

Lunch passed without incident, and attendance from Russ.

And once again, everybody filed out of the dining hall

hastily, but this time eager to find other things to do.

Misaki caught up with Aeka and decided to spend a little bit

of time with her. Sasami and Ryo-Ohki tagged along as well.

Azaka and Kamidake went to the training room, Ryoko and Tenchi

left the palace to tour the outdoors, Yosho, Funaho, Asuza,

Nobuyuki, and Washu all went off together, and Kiyone and

Mihoshi took off on their own once again.

Time seemed to kick into overdrive and fly by, until it

was almost dinnertime. Aeka, her mother, and Sasami with Ryo-

Ohki all went shopping together, and they bought themselves a

huge mass of new clothes. Not so much as bought as was simply

took home, since the store owners refused to charge anybody

from the Royal Family, but nevertheless, it was a fun trip for

the four.

They got to talk about various things, mainly about the

life Aeka and Sasami were enjoying back on Earth. Aeka talked

about her improved friendship with the Space Pirate Ryoko,

about her flower garden outside the house, and about the

various things she did with her brother. She explained some

of the earth customs that were a bit different than the events

that occurred on Jurai, but she never mentioned the detail

that she had been depressed for so long.

One thing led to another until the subject about Russ

came up again. Aeka bristled at the fact that he missed two

meals already, and she had no idea where he went. However,

Misaki decided to help Aeka go find him, and the first place

she figured they should look is the training room. Azaka and

Kamidake should be there as well, and if Russ wasn't there,

they could at least all go to dinner together.

After dropping off their new stuff, the foursome made

their way to the royal training room, where Azaka and Kamidake

should've been training their warriors and noblemen in the

ways of combat. However, when they got there, they found the

person they were looking for.

Russ stood on one side of the mat, and Azaka stood on

the other, and they were both dressed for fighting. Azaka was

in his combat robes, and Russ was in his green karate gi,

poised for battle. The crowd around both individuals was very

large, but Misaki pressed her way to the front, followed by

Aeka, Sasami, and Ryo-Ohki. She could hear Azaka saying

something to Russ, and the room quieted down to listen.

"Are you ready to begin, Russ? I've been waiting for an

opportunity to spar with you," Azaka said, loosing up his

shoulders a bit and assuming a defensive stance.

"I'm ready when you are. Don't hold back," Russ

responded, taking up a new stance.

"I think you're misjudging how strong we really are," he

responded, drawing a soft "Oooh" from the audience. Russ just

smirked and indicated with his hand to bring it on. "Wait,

aren't you going to choose a weapon?"

"No. I fight mainly hand to hand. There isn't a weapon

strong enough for me to use. I keep breaking them," Russ

explained. "But feel free to use your staff."

Azaka looked at the blue orb on the end of his weapon

and decided to use the staff, despite the nagging feeling that

it would be unfair. "Are you sure? It may be a little

unfair."

"Hmmm unfair. You're right," he said, looking around

the room. He lifted his arm and pointed at Kamidake. "Go

join your partner. That will make it a little more fair."

Both Azaka and Kamidake looked at him, bewilderment and

surprise creasing their expressions. Russ maintained a poker

face and nodded his head. Misaki's eyes widened slightly,

wondering what he was really capable of. She figured that it

would be a very interesting match. Everybody sat down to

watch.

Kamidake hesitated, and didn't move from his position.

"What are you waiting for? Go join him. I'm serious," Russ

told him.

Both knights shrugged their shoulders and he moved next

to Azaka, doing a little warm up exercise to get himself ready

for the match. "Are you ready to begin now?" Azaka asked, his

anticipation getting the better of him.

Russ looked at both of them and scratched his head.

"Computer, give me three hundred times Earth normal gravity."

A soft beeping emanated from the device on his arm as a

crushing weight settled down on him over a span of ten

seconds. The floor beneath him bowed slightly and a bunch of

cracking noises came from under his feet. Nodding his head

from side to side, growing accustomed to the enhanced gravity,

he took up his original poise and nodded his head. "Now, I'm

ready."

Misaki's eyes grew larger. "What did he just do, Aeka?"

"That's the gravity enhancer I was telling you about.

He weighs three hundred times more than he really should right

now," she explained. "But I still think Azaka and Kamidake

are at a disadvantage. I hope he controls himself and doesn't

hurt them."

Now the empress looked at Aeka with horror. "What!?

How strong is he?" she said in an exasperated whisper.

"Far stronger than anybody I've ever seen in my life,"

she said, looking into her mother's eyes. "I've seen what he

is capable of, or at least according to him, a small taste of

it."

"How can anybody have that much energy and be able to

hide it all?" she said, amazed.

"I don't know, but he does it. The frightening thing is

he says that there are others who are more powerful than him."

"Wow. Well, it's looks like they're ready to begin.

Let's see what he can do," she said, watching in eager

anticipation.

"Whenever you're ready, you guys. Just say the word and

we'll begin," Russ said, not having moved an inch, staring

between the two knights.

"If you insist. We'll begin right now!" Kamidake

shouted, sprinting forward and swinging his staff around his

body. The instant he got in range, he swung his staff at

Russ's midsection, whistling through the air with incredible

force and speed of the strike, but it passed through him, as

if he were a ghost. He looked at Russ in surprise, and then

quickly tried backhanding him in the head, which also passed

right through. After making several vain attempts to kick,

punch, or hit him with the staff and freehand, he jumped back

a few paces and stared at his opponent.

Russ grinned in response. "You missed," he taunted.

"Oh my god, he's fast!" Kamidake said to himself. "He

wasn't fooling when he said we'd be at a disadvantage! And he

isn't even warmed up!" He steeled himself up a bit more,

sweat beading on his forehead and trickling down the back of

his neck in miniature rivers. Azaka had much the same

reaction. "You try him, Azaka," he said, turning around and

looking at his counterpart, then backing off a few more paces.

"You may be fast, but lets see you dodge this!" he

shouted, the blue orb on his staff glowing with radiant energy

as he charged up his power, the energy roaring around him in a

bluish white aura. He launched it at Russ when the blast was

ready, resembling the wave he used when he fought against

Ketta, the black knight, and it sailed toward him, forcing air

out of the way and sizzling with the incredible Jurai energy.

Russ simply placed a hand out in front of him and the

blast slammed into it with a thunderous explosion, then

dissipated. He returned his hand to his side and he smiled.

Azaka and Kamidake both looked at him with fear in their eyes

and hearts. What did they just get themselves into?

"Come on, guys. I'm not even warmed up yet. I promise

I won't seriously injure either of you," he informed them,

still having not moved from his original position.

Misaki couldn't help but stare at Russ with her jaw

hanging slightly open. However, she wasn't the only one that

had that same look on her face. Nearly everybody who saw what

just transpired was sweating profusely, even though they

hadn't done anything.

"That blast would've vaporized any normal man, but it

didn't even scorch Russ's hand! What is he made of anyway?"

Misaki asked herself, fretting slightly at the knight's

inability to do any damage to him whatsoever.

Misaki was well aware of her own abilities, and she

could easily take both Azaka and Kamidake if she wanted, but

she had never met anybody else who could do the same, and look

so cool and calm about it too. It was frightening. After

Azaka and Kamidake finished their sparring match, she'd step

up to the ring and give him a try as well. She wanted to find

out how well she measured up to him.

Aeka watched him quietly, a very slight smile creasing

her lips. It was strange to see him be so considerate in the

middle of a fight, even though it was only a sparring match.

He knew how much energy to use to keep from injuring others,

but most people she knew of would take great pride in causing

pain and suffering to others.

The little blue haired princess watched the short

scuffle in awe and wonder, curious as to how he could move so

fast. It was the neatest thing she's ever seen. It was like

watching a video game as a live performance. Several two

player fighting games came to mind, and she giggled to herself

at her ability to continually beat Azaka at his favorite one.

She turned her attention back to the trio as they began to

have a second go at it.

Azaka and Kamidake both stood side by side, facing what

seemed to be an invincible opponent, and they knew it would be

very difficult to defeat him. Most likely impossible, but

they weren't at full power and neither was he, so it was

anybody's guess as to who was the most powerful and skilled

warrior between the three. They both looked into Russ's eyes

and couldn't find a single weakness in his front. They turned

toward each other and nodded together, an unspoken attack

pattern agreed on between the two. Without warning, they

attacked.

Russ remained in his position and watched them both

streak toward him, both yelling their battlecry and swinging

their weapons around in a predictable pattern. As they both

reached him, they swung their staffs at two different targets.

Azaka aimed for Russ's head, and Kamidake went for his

midsection. The staffs howled through the air as they raced

toward their targets. But just before they made contact, they

stopped instantly with loud clangs. Both their faces went to

utter surprise as Russ had used his forearms to block each

swing. Both staffs remained in contact with each arm and

Russ's face was still a mask of concentration, his gaze

fixated in a single direction.

Quickly withdrawing the weapons, they quickly spun them

around their bodies and made a second attempt to strike him in

random positions. However, Russ's arms blocked each attempt.

What made it frustrating is that they never even saw his arms

move. They just appeared in their positions without so much

as a blur of motion.

Jumping back once more, Azaka and Kamidake went into a

hacking frenzy, trying to hit Russ somewhere on his body. The

speed they both exhibited was remarkable, but it was nowhere

near enough to break through Russ's impenetrable defenses.

The staffs swung through the air, whistling with extreme force

and power, but each time his arms blocked their offense

easily. To the crowd, the staffs were nothing but

unintelligible blurs of white mass swinging through the air.

Finally, after about two solid minutes of trying to hit

their opponent with the staffs, they jumped back a few feet

and glared at him.

"Aren't you even going to go on the offensive!? You've

done nothing but stand there!" Kamidake yelled, clearly

flustered.

"He's right. You've never even moved an inch! What's

the deal?" Azaka growled, annoyed and frustrated. "Don't you

think we can't handle ourselves?"

Russ sighed. "That's not it. Your moves are

predictable. You guys work in patterns."

"What!? What are you talking about?" Kamidake said,

still trying to catch his breath.

"I mean is you work in a pattern. You have a set number

of steps," he began to explain, bringing his hands up and

showing quotation marks when he said the word, 'steps.' "That

you guys follow. Once you begin one move, you follow it up

with another one. Now, against someone who doesn't know your

fighting style or technique, it could be very effective. But

what do you do against someone who knows exactly what you're

going to do on the very first swing? I put almost no effort

at all into blocking your shots because I knew exactly where

each one of them were going to end up!"

Azaka and Kamidake looked at each other in realization.

"You mean you knew exactly what we were going to do?" Azaka

asked.

"That's right. But now, you have absolutely no idea

what I'm going to do now, do you?" he said, pointing at the

two knights. "You don't, for two reasons. One. You haven't

seen me fight before. Two. When I do fight, I don't use

patterns. I fight with random blows, so even if you DID see

me fight before, I never do the same thing twice, unless I

find it effective against my opponent. But then I change it

again to something different." Russ took in a deep breath and

sighed. "I'll demonstrate. I'll go much slower than I would

normally go, so you can see how much more effective a random,

chaotic fighting style can be. The only thing I base myself

on is a rhythm."

An uncharacteristic silence fell over the audience as

they listened to his wisdom. Azaka and Kamidake also listened

to what he had to say, and they exchanged knowing glances.

"We can fight randomly too, Russ. We didn't know you knew our

style of fighting."

"I don't, but based on your first couple of attacks, I

figured it out in a hurry, since it is similar to another

style of fighting. Frankly, I found it quite simple. No

offense intended, though," he said quickly, noticing a couple

wrathful scowls from the audience and one from Kamidake.

"Our style of fighting has been one of the very best for

thousands of years. It's NOT a simple style, and it takes

many years of practice and patience to learn it," Kamidake

argued, mildly offended.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset, but you

just told me that this same pattern has been used for

thousands of years, right? Don't you think others have

learned that technique during that time period? Several

thousand years is a VERY long time."

Kamidake's aggressive posture wilted and he frowned

thoughtfully. "I suppose you're right. But only the Jurians

know of this fighting style and technique. We don't train

outsiders."

"You don't have to. If someone survives a battle with

one of you, don't you think he's going to retain the knowledge

of his fight and then use it against you, or perhaps train

others in the same style of combat?" Russ questioned, pressing

his point.

"I understand what you mean, Russ. What do you suggest

we do?" Azaka asked, genuinely interested. Kamidake remained

a little more skeptical.

"I'd tell you randomness, but that isn't really a style

at all. About the only thing I could tell you to do is invent

new techniques. If you fight against someone, do not lose, or

he'll retain the knowledge of your battle and possibly return

to use it against you. If something like that does occur, you

invent a new technique to take its place. That's about as

close to random as you can get," Russ told them.

"Well, show us what you can do, Russ," Azaka challenged,

taking up a defensive posture.

"Okay. What about you, Kamidake? Two on one, or should

I just spar with Azaka here?" Russ asked, nodding his head

from side to side to work out a kink in his neck.

"I'll just observe and see what you two do." The red

knight walked off the mat and stood at the edge with his arms

folded over his chest, his staff resting on the floor and

being held up by one of his hands.

"Begin," Azaka ordered, tensing up his whole body in

preparation for a massive charge from Russ.

"Okay," came the answer.

Russ slowly began walking over to him, his face not

showing any emotion or any indication of what his intentions

were. It was the perfect poker face. His footsteps thumped

across the mat in a steady rhythm and the floorboards under

his feet cracked and snapped from the extreme weight.

Azaka's face was also contorted into concentration,

however, he couldn't figure out why Russ was taking his time

approaching him. It was very unusual to do something like

that. Perhaps he was going to charge when he got a few paces

closer. Perspiration drenched his robes from the stress of

waiting for a surprise lunge, which never came.

Finally standing directly in front of the blue knight,

Russ stared down into his eyes, almost as if trying to read

his thoughts. Then, without warning, Russ made his first

move, and attacked Azaka. Bringing his left leg up, he

snapped his foot toward Azaka's side, level with his ribs.

Speedily, he brought his arm in front of the blow and blocked

it, pain lancing through his arm from the force of the blow

and causing a small bruise. Russ withdrew his leg, raised it

higher, and snapped it forward again, aiming for the side of

Azaka's head.

He never saw it coming. The blow connected and Azaka

stumbled away, more from surprise and shock than from actual

pain. Staring at Russ, he quickly mounted his own offense and

charged his opponent, swinging his staff at Russ's midsection.

Russ quickly blocked it, grabbed the staff in his hand, and

buried his left fist into Azaka's stomach, forcing all the air

out of him and causing him to drop to one knee. Quickly

capitalizing on the situation, Russ brought his arm down in

one swift stroke toward the back of Azaka's neck.

Everybody gasped in horror as they expected to see a

deadly blow, but it never came. Russ stopped his hand just

above his neck, and then gently brought his hand down to rest

on his target.

"You're dead," he announced in triumph. "You should've

been able to block all of those blows. What happened?"

Azaka wheezed a few moments as he started to catch his

breath again. "You're too fast," he said simply. "There's no

way I can block shots that move that fast."

"You were moving faster when you two attacked me. I was

moving slower in comparison with what you're capable of," he

answered, frowning.

"He's right, Azaka. He was moving pretty slowly,"

Kamidake interjected from the side. "However, I never

expected him to pull blows like he did. I would've gone

flying as well."

"It was only three blows. Of course, if I pull those

three blows again, you'll know exactly how to block them, now

won't you?"

"Yes. I see your point." Azaka stood up, clutching his

stomach and rubbing his sore arm. "But you're not going to do

those same three moves again, are you?"

"It depends. I don't know. That's the key of random

fighting. You have no idea if I'm going to pull those same

three moves again or not. If I do it again and you block it,

chances are I won't do it again. But then again, I may throw

that combo in if I think you're not expecting it. I don't

even know what I'm going to do. It's all spur the moment type

stuff."

"Well, ready for a second go?" Azaka invited. "Just

spar. I'd like to see how I measure up."

"Use your full power, okay? I don't know if you guys

get enough challenges around here to use your power to the

extreme, but I'll be a sufficient opponent," Russ grinned. He

couldn't help but brag about his power from time to time.

Azaka looked at him, then smiled and nodded his head.

"Kamidake? Hold onto my staff for me, will you? I'm going

this one hand to hand."

"Are you sure?" Kamidake asked, concerned.

"Yeah." He tossed his staff to his friend and Kamidake

caught it easily. "Ready?" he asked, turning toward Russ

again.

"Yup. Let's go."

Elsewhere, Tenchi and Ryoko were casually walking

through the local city, stopping at nearly every store to

window shop. Tenchi didn't mind and contented himself with

just being beside Ryoko the whole time. He never realized how

beautiful she appeared and how in love with her he really was

until two weeks ago, when Russ arrived on Earth. Still not

being able to figure out why he made love that night, he

distracted himself when Ryoko stopped in front of a candy

store, and he lost his train of thought.

"Oooh, I haven't had that kind of candy in a long time!

Tenchi? Can we go inside?" Ryoko begged, tugging on his arm

and pointing to a box of a very weird looking candy. It was

covered in what looked like glitter and it resembled the shape

of gumdrops.

Tenchi smiled and nodded his head. "Okay. What is

that, anyway?"

Ryoko smiled and giggled like a little girl. "It's

really good. Come on! Let's get it. We can share it too."

"We're going to spoil our dinner, Ryoko," he said,

seriously. But he softened up again and took Ryoko's hand.

"But I guess one snack never hurt anybody."

Ryoko led him inside and made her way to one of the bulk

candy bins, where she grabbed a plastic bag and immediately

began filling it with the candy she wanted. A few moments

later, she finished and tied the bag closed, but barely. She

filled it to the point where you couldn't fill it anymore.

"Are you sure you have enough candy there, Ryoko?"

Tenchi asked, shaking his head in amusement.

"It's my favorite and I haven't had it in years. I need

to feed my craving." Ryoko handed Tenchi the bag and he took

at closer look at the contents.

"What does this stuff taste like?" he asked, scrunching

his nose. "It doesn't look all that appetizing. The sparkle

things look like glitter."

"That stuff is sugar," she explained while opening up

another bin and filling a second bag with a different candy.

"But don't worry, you'll like it."

"Ryoko! What are you doing?" he asked, annoyed, eyeing

the second bag. "I thought we were just getting one bag of

candy! And besides, you filled this thing up to almost

bursting."

"This is for later," she said, smiling seductively.

"We'll eat this when we go to bed tonight." She floated over

and put her arm around Tenchi, then whispered into his ear.

"This candy has a neat little effect on the people who eat it.

You'll see what it is, tonight." She blew into his ear

causing him to break out in goosebumps.

"Hey, come on. Don't do that here! People are

staring!" Tenchi hissed, pushing her off of him a little.

"Just act normally, okay?"

Her face looked like she was going to cry. Hanging her

head in shame, she quietly floated beside him, guilt all over

her visage. Tying up the last bag of candy, she silently

floated over to the counter and set the candy down.

Tenchi shook his head and wondered why she took

everything to extremes. He set down the bag of candy that he

was carrying and reached for his wallet under the mass of

robes. "I'm sorry, Ryoko. I didn't mean to hurt your

feelings. It's just that it embarrasses me. I'm not used to

that."

"I know, Tenchi. But I've always done what I want, and

flirting with you in public is fun and it makes me feel good.

I wish it didn't embarrass you like you say it does. I want

everybody to know how much I love you."

Now Tenchi felt guilty. Curling his arm around her

waist, he pulled her closer and kissed her on the cheek. "I

love you too, but doing that kind of thing in public isn't

very good. Holding hands and little kisses are fine, but

nothing more than that, okay?"

"Okay."

The young store clerk approached the counter with a

smile. "Good evening, sir. Is this all for today?" he asked,

lifting up the two bags and setting them down on a scale.

"Yes. How much will that be?" Tenchi asked, opening his

wallet and thumbing through the various bills.

"Let's see," he said, tallying up the price on the

register. He looked back at Tenchi and stared at him for a

moment. "Hey, aren't you Prince Tenchi?"

Closing his eyes and letting out a quiet groan, he shook

his head. "I'm just Tenchi. How much does that come to?"

The clerk looked at him in bewilderment. Here he was,

standing face to face with the crown prince of Jurai. It felt

to be such an honor just to be in his presence. The sound of

Tenchi clearing his throat snapped him out of his trance.

"I'm sorry, your highness. That was rude of me. Take

the candy with our compliments," he said, bowing humbly.

"Not again," he groaned. "I'll pay for the candy like

everybody else does. I'm not the prince of Jurai, okay?"

The young clerk trembled slightly. "I cannot, your

highness. Please, take the candy with our compliments, and

have a very pleasant evening." Everybody in the store stopped

and stared at Tenchi, in awe that they were in his company and

didn't even know it.

Tenchi was about to argue the point further when Ryoko

put a hand on his shoulder. "Just do as he says. They want

you to take the candy, so do it," she whispered, drawing a

glare from Tenchi. "Everybody sees you as the prince here.

But you're my treasure, and you're all mine." She kissed his

cheek and squeezed him tighter. "Come on, Tenchi. Let's

enjoy ourselves and the candy together, okay?"

Sighing in defeat, he bowed to the clerk. "Thank you

very much. I appreciate it." He picked up both bags of candy

and led Ryoko out of the store, with the clerk and everybody

else staring after him. "I guess I have to get used to that

here or something." He grinned sheepishly at the floating

space pirate next to him. "So, where do you want to go eat it

at?"

"I saw a bench outside of the palace in the garden. Why

don't we go over there?"

"Okay. I guess we can do that," he said, smiling at

her. "It's a nice day with warm weather and the scenery is

beautiful."

"WHAT scenery, Tenchi?" she said, floating closer to him

and taking his hand, winking at him.

"Oh, I don't know," he teased. "That tree over there

has a very nice figure."

Ryoko grabbed him in both arms and started crushing him.

"What did you say, Tenchi?" she whispered into his ear,

squeezing him even tighter.

"I said you're very beautiful, Ryoko!" he managed to

choke out. He took in a huge breath of air when Ryoko

released him.

"That's better." She hugged him much more gently and

kissed his cheek. Without warning, she teleported the both of

them to the garden bench, which thankfully wasn't occupied,

and let go of Tenchi.

Looking around with utter surprise and confusion, he

realized what just happened. "I wish you'd warn me before

doing that, okay?"

Ryoko appeared confused, but nodded her head. "Sure

Tenchi. But now," she said, sitting down and pulling the

prince down next to her. "Time to indulge this candy!"

"It sure has been a long time since we've been to Jurai.

It's amazing how much everything has remained the same,"

Kiyone said, making her way around a different area of the

city. She stopped in front of a store that sold various

Jurian clothing and checked out a black lace dress that was on

display in the window. It was made of silk and had plenty of

room in the cups, and did not have shoulder straps. It almost

shined like a well-polished spaceship.

"You said it, Kiyone. I remember most of these stores

down this street," Mihoshi said, who was walking slowly next

to her partner. She noticed Kiyone's gaze fixated on the

dress in the window. "That's a really pretty dress. Why

don't you get it for yourself?" Mihoshi smiled and pressed

her face to the window to drown out the reflection from the

nearby shops.

Kiyone sighed to herself and shook her head. "There's

no way I could afford this. I have more important things to

worry about, like paying the rent on our apartment." Her head

drooped slightly and the smile melted off of her lips.

"Come on, Kiyone. You deserve something nice after all

that you do. Don't worry so much about the money," she urged,

smiling even wider.

"I have to worry about the money because nobody else

does. And if we can't afford the payments on the apartment,

we'll lose it and they'll kick us out," Kiyone mumbled

unhappily.

Mihoshi's eyes sparkled. "Come on inside and let's take

a closer look at it," she giggled, pulling on her partner's

arm and nearly dragging her to the entrance. "Maybe they have

it on sale or something."

"Come on, Mihoshi! Even if it WAS on sale there is

still no way I could afford it. We're already in the red this

month." Kiyone began resisting Mihoshi's enthusiasm but she

had no real will in it. Finally allowing herself to be

dragged in, she sighed in defeat.

A well-dressed entrepreneur approached both Galaxy

Police officers almost immediately. "Good evening, ladies.

Is there anything I can do for you today?" he asked with a

smile and offering his hand.

Mihoshi immediately took his hand and shook. "I'm

Mihoshi and this is my partner, Kiyone. We were looking at

that black dress in the window. How much is it? Kiyone was

interested in it."

The man turned around and approached the display. "This

dress here?"

"Yes! That's the one!" she giggled happily.

"Let's see. The price on this dress is normally a

hundred, forty thousand yen, but we've got a half-off sale

today, so it's marked down to seventy thousand yen. A very

good buy," he added.

"See, Kiyone! It is on sale. Let's get it for you. We

can manage the money somehow."

Her partner shook her head. "Sorry, Mihoshi. Like I

said, we're already in the red this month and there is no way

I could afford that, even with it being on sale." She turned

toward the salesman. "I'm sorry to trouble you, sir."

He looked at both of them and thought of the names

again. Suddenly, it clicked. These two individuals were the

galaxy police officers that assisted the princess against the

imposter Yosho! He had heard about the many amazing things

that they all had done together and all the hardships they

endured. Wanting to meet them both for some time, he realized

that the wish had come true. Here they were, standing in

front of him.

Also, an announcement made by the empress of Jurai,

Funaho, made earlier today had entered his memory too. She

had ordered that everything be given to them, and the bill

sent to the emperor. However, do it all discretely. He

couldn't help but smile.

"Ladies? I've always wanted to meet you two. It gives

me great pleasure and honor to finally be able to do so." He

bowed humbly. "Kiyone? Do you want this dress?"

"I'm sorry sir, but we can't afford it," she answered,

hanging her head and looking away. Why did everything have to

revolve around MONEY?

"Oh, that's no problem," he announced, preparing to

remove the dress from the display. "We would be honored if

you would accept the dress with our appreciation, free of

charge."

Kiyone's jaw dropped straight through the floor as she

nearly fainted. Staring blankly at him, Mihoshi broke the

deafening silence.

"Yay! See? Everything worked out, just like I said!"

she giggled, clapping her hands together. "Yes, we'll take

the dress. Thank you very much, sir!"

"Mihoshi! We can't accept that! We'd get in serious

trouble with our superiors for accepting thanks for doing a

job!" Kiyone said, thinking of a few officers who had accepted

tokens of gratitude and who were demoted because of it.

Realizing he was about to lose a sale, he clerk

interrupted her. "It's not free. The empress ordered that

everything that you choose be billed to them. We're still

getting our money, so don't be concerned over it."

"That's just as bad!" Kiyone retorted.

"Come on," Mihoshi begged. "Treat yourself to something

nice and stop putting duty above all else. It's obvious that

Jurai is in debited to you and they want to repay it with

thanks."

"But the Galaxy Police regulations"

"Don't worry about them. I'm sure the empress would

explain it if they asked," Mihoshi interrupted sternly.

"We're getting this dress. End of story." She then smiled

and giggled.

Staring at her partner in shock, she couldn't think of a

comeback. It was so uncharacteristic of her to take charge of

ANYTHING! Watching the clerk remove the dress very carefully

and fold it up, she silently followed him to the counter, duty

screaming at her to refuse the offering. But strangely, she

finally decided to turn her nose up at duty and allow Jurai to

offer her a little token of thanks.

"Is there anything you'd like, ma'am?" he asked, turning

toward Mihoshi. "We have a very large variety of dresses that

would look very pretty on you."

"Oh, nothing for me, thanks," she answered cheerily.

"You forced me to get something. Seems only fair that

you get something too," Kiyone informed her. "Let's see what

they've got. You may find something you like."

"But I have no reason to get one. I've got plenty of

clothes"

"Shut up, Mihoshi," she growled. "Sir? Could you

recommend something for my partner here?"

"Hmmm," he said, approaching the two. He casually

walked in a full circle around her, admiring her figure and

her facial features, paying particular attention to her eye

color. "I think a dress similar to yours, but in a light blue

that matches her eyes would look the best. Except with maybe

more sparkle. Yeah, I think that would look good." He nodded

his head confidently. "Let me see if I have something in

stock. Come with me," he said, making his way deeper into the

store.

The two GP followed him to a rack that had various full-

length dresses and he browsed the selection. A few moments

later, he withdrew a dress that was a perfect match for

Mihoshi's eyes. It glittered and sparkled, as if it were

covered in thousands of tiny little mirrors. Mihoshi gasped

and carefully took the dress from his hands, pressing it to

herself and turning toward her partner.

"What do you think, Kiyone? Would I look good in this

dress?"

Kiyone smiled and nodded. "I think that would look

great on you. Go try it on. I want to see you in it."

"The dressing rooms are right over here, ma'am," the

salesman said, gesturing to an area nearby. "We also do

alterations while you wait. If something doesn't fit quite

right, we'll fix it so that it does. Why don't you go try

your dress on as well, ma'am?" he asked, looking at Kiyone.

"Okay," she said, smiling and blushing slightly. "I've

never worn anything like that before. I'm curious myself as

to how I'll look in it."

"I'll be right back. I left it on the counter."

He hurried off and returned a moment later with the

dress, and showed Kiyone to the dressing room. A few minutes

later, they exited the rooms at the same time and turned

toward each other, both of them admiring the other.

"Wow! Kiyone! You look so good!" Mihoshi squealed.

"What about me?"

Kiyone blushed and looked down to the floor shyly. "You

look great as well, Mihoshi. That dress really goes good with

your eyes."

They each turned toward a wall of full-length mirrors,

and began to admire themselves. Kiyone carefully tugged on a

few spots of the dress, trying different postures and feeling

the dress flow around her legs while Mihoshi smiled at

herself, then stood next to her partner, leaning against her

and seeing how they looked as a pair.

The clerk caught himself staring at the two of them, and

feeling a little flushed and turned on. "You look absolutely

fabulous! Those dresses almost seem to have been created just

for you two ladies. Even I'm very impressed with how well you

look in them."

They both turned toward him and continued to blush. He

approached Kiyone and circled her, pulling at certain points

on the dress and testing the overall fit. A moment later, he

gave the same treatment to Mihoshi.

"Well, I must say, they fit nearly perfectly. It is

very rare when that happens. But it's always convenient when

it does," he laughed. "Well, change back and we'll box those

up for you so you can take them home."

"Thanks again, sir," Kiyone said, re-entering the

dressing room. Mihoshi did the same and they emerged a few

moments later, dressed in their casual Japanese style

clothing. They followed the man to the counter and waited

patiently as he carefully folded each dress and placed them in

white crepe paper, then placed them both in large boxes,

sealing them with tape. He then smiled and handed the boxes

over with a humble bow.

"Thank you for allowing me the privilege to wait on you.

Enjoy the dresses and have a nice evening. You'll be the envy

of the palace with those dresses."

They each bowed back in return. "Thank you, sir. We

appreciate the trouble."

"No trouble at all," he said with a laugh. "I've always

wanted to meet you two and I am honored to have helped you

today."

Both girls smiled and bowed once more, then departed the

store.

"I still feel funny about taking a dress and not paying

for it, especially one that is as expensive as this one,"

Kiyone mussed.

"Stop your worrying. Galaxy Police won't even hear

about it. I'm sure a lot more people accept little tokens of

gratitude without them knowing all the time," Mihoshi said,

rolling her eyes. "Nothing to worry about, except the fact

dinner will be served in a little while."

"Oh my gosh! I lost track of the time while we were in

there! We should get going," said Kiyone, increasing her

speed and making her way to the palace. Mihoshi easily kept

pace beside her partner.

Azaka and Kamidake both stumbled off of the training

mat, battered and bruised, their egos deflated to almost non-

existence. Never, in their entire lives, have they been so

easily defeated by anyone not of the Royal Family. Misaki

walked next to them, also roughed up considerably, her own ego

tucked between her legs as she limped away with the two

knights. Russ remained on the mat, a slight grin creasing his

expression, his clothing slightly damp from perspiration from

the enhanced gravity and extreme exercise.

Most everybody in the room stared at him in awe, trying

to figure out how in the world he could've defeated not one,

not two, but all three of the competitors so easily. And they

were the strongest people they've ever seen. Several people

were sweating in fear while others just shook their heads in

utter amazement at the feats of enormous strength and speed

that the spiky haired one possessed. And he didn't even look

warmed up, AND he was under an enormous amount of gravity.

The floor was shattered in several places where Russ

jumped into the air and landed again while dodging leg sweeps.

Several people on the maintenance crew realized that they had

their work cut out for them this time. Fortunately, since

Russ threw no ki blasts and blocked all the ones that were

thrown at him, the amount of damage that was averted was

staggering.

While the trio walked off the stage to take a breather,

another man came up on the mat who was well built and

muscular, but was a tad shorter than Russ. He casually walked

up behind the Saiyan and smacked him on the back of his head.

Everybody gasped in horror, but the man continued smiling as

Russ rolled his eyes and grinned.

"That you, Tom?" he asked, not even turning around.

"Dammit, how do you know it's always me, huh?" he

laughed, walking around Russ and standing in front of him.

"You're the only one who whacks me on the back of the

head like that. Plus I can't detect you since you have no

ki."

"Maybe I should kick you in the crotch then. Then you

wouldn't know it was me," he said, snickering.

"And once I got back up, you'd cease to exist," Russ

warned, also grinning. "But anyway, what's up? How'd you

know I was here?"

"Duh. All you ever do is train, so I figured the first

place to look would be in a training room."

Aeka bristled slightly, even though it wasn't meant to

make fun of her for fretting all that time looking for him.

She looked at her mother who sat down next to her once again

and rubbed her sore arm.

"So, you want to train a little more? You can fight ME

now," Tom challenged, producing a weapon from under his shirt.

Russ laughed. "Here we go again." He turned toward a

man who was standing nearby. "Hey you there, sir. May I

borrow your staff?"

He looked at him incredulously and shakily nodded his

head. "Sure." Tossing the staff to Russ, he caught it easily

and swung it around a couple times.

"I wish I could form my own energy sword or staff.

Having to use these physical weapons suck," he complained to

himself.

Misaki overheard his complaint. She couldn't believe

that he couldn't form an energy sword out of his ki. A man,

who was capable of defeating everybody on the planet of Jurai,

couldn't master one of the simplest techniques of forming an

energy weapon. Smiling slightly in satisfaction that she

could teach him something that he didn't know pleased her

immensely. Before Russ left the planet, she made it a point

to teach him how to do just that.

Tom swung his weapon around a few times and smiled at

Russ. "Time for a little showboating."

Russ laughed and shook his head. "You and those

nunchucks. I swear, one of these days you're going to bust

yourself in the head or something stupid."

Swinging the weapon once more, Tom speedily began

whipping them all around his body at incredible speed, the

nunchucks whistling through the air. He began making karate

sound effects, causing Russ to start laughing even harder.

However, everybody else who was watching him fell silent,

quietly watching him perform with a weapon that they have

never seen before. The weapon flew all around his waist,

around his legs, over his shoulders and alternated from hand

to hand.

After about a minute of fast and furious showboating,

Tom held his weapon out in front of him, ready for combat.

Russ grinned. "You're better than I remember. But now,

it's my turn," he said, swing the staff a couple of times,

then began spinning it at an insane rate, as he speedily

whipped the staff through the air, making it appear only as a

blur to the audience. He spun it all around his body,

however, he kept himself silent, and the only sound in the

room was the staff soaring through the air.

He went for the same amount of time that Tom did and

held the staff in his hand, ready for combat. "I've got a

better idea. Do you remember the November song by Mythos?"

Tom nodded his head. "Yeah." He thought a moment more

then cringed. "Don't tell me you want to do that thing."

"Oh, quit complaining. Everybody who has seen it has

liked it. I don't understand why you don't like doing it."

Falling silent, he couldn't think of a suitable retort

and he folded his arms over his chest, frowning. Russ walked

off the mat to the corner he was originally training at,

picked up his stereo system, and returned to the padded area.

"I'm glad I brought this thing with me," he said,

setting it down on the edge away from the crowd. "Let's see

Mythos Mythos Ahhh, here it is." Selecting the song he was

looking for, he turned toward Tom. "Put those things away and

grab a staff, pinhead."

"Shut up. I'm going." Pointing to the guard who was

standing nearby, he politely asked for the staff, which the

man gave him. He thanked him then returned to the center of

the mat, where Russ was patiently waiting.

"You ready?" asked Russ, grinning widely.

Tom swung the staff a couple times and stood it on end.

"I hate this," he grumbled. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Good." He quickly pressed play on the stereo and

turned the volume up quite loudly, but not uncomfortably loud,

and he took up his position.

The music began to play, fading in slowly, as Russ and

Tom began to rock back and forth to the rhythm.

"What's he doing?" Misaki asked, rubbing a bruise on her

leg.

"I have no idea. This is the first time I've seen

whatever it is he's about to do," Aeka answered. She watched

him in wonder, curious as to what he had in mind.

As the music continued to play, it went into full force

a few moments later. Both Russ and Tom moved at exactly the

same time, perfectly synchronized to the music's rhythm, as

they slowly spun the staffs and performed martial arts in slow

motion.

Aeka gasped. "It's a dance," she whispered in wonder.

Now that was something she has never seen anybody do before,

and definitely didn't expect Russ to have a talent for.

Contemplating the fact that she hadn't danced in years, it

brought back fond memories of the many dances in the ballroom

at the palace. She thought of the very first dance she had,

with a young prince of a neighboring star system. Neither of

them were any good at it, but it was fun. Everybody applauded

her valiant attempt at it.

Watching Russ perform his dance pleased her, and she

noticed that she had something else in common with him.

Imagining what could be her first dance with him, she sighed

in regret, knowing that he'd probably never want to do

something like that. However, she'd never know unless she

asked.

"Wow! I had no idea he could dance too," whispered

Sasami to her sister. "The music is really neat too. So calm

and peaceful."

Aeka nodded and continued to watch both Russ and Tom

perform the routine flawlessly, keeping in perfect time. The

music was calming and relaxing, but it went very well with the

dance. "Yeah. I like the music too."

Sasami giggled, noting the direction of Aeka's stare and

her partially open mouth. She turned toward her mother and

looked up at her eyes, which were also locked on Russ.

Giggling even harder, she poked her mom in the side. "What do

you think, mom? Isn't that neat?"

Misaki barely acknowledged her daughter, as she was

completely caught up in the dance. "Yes dear," she managed to

mutter out, never letting her eyes wander from the pair.

The song drew to a close, and they both ended by keeping

one knee on the mat with the staff laid on the floor, as they

both appeared to bow when the song ended.

Deathly silence greeted their ears as they both

cautiously looked up from their position, their foreheads

beading with perspiration. They both got to their feet and

looked at each other in confusion, as they both glanced around

the room at the many faces, most of which carried the same,

awestruck expression.

Standing up, Misaki flew over to Russ and grabbed him in

a bone-crushing hug. "That was BEAUTIFUL! Please teach me

that dance!" she begged.

Letting out a massive sigh of relief, he scratched

behind his head. "Uh I suppose I could do that. It

shouldn't take too long to write down the steps and show you

how to do it."

A woman from the audience piped up. "Would you mind

teaching those of us who would also like to learn that? I

think that would impress my husband a great deal."

Russ looked around the room at the many faces that

basically pleaded with him to instruct them. "I think I can

manage that. But I'm not sure if I have enough time. We only

arrived for the Startica festival and then we intended on

heading home, since some of the people who came with us have

things to do back on Earth."

"Hey Russ, I'll be taking off for a bit. I'm going to

tour the city for a while. I'll catch you later, alright?"

Tom said, retrieving his nunchucks and tossing the staff to

the guard.

Misaki turned toward him. "No. You're coming with us

to the dining room. Dinner will be served shortly, and I'd

like you to join us. I assume you're Russ's friend?"

"Yes ma'am. Who are you?"

"My name is Misaki, and I'm one of the empresses of

Jurai," she said flatly. "And I won't take no for an answer."

Tom's jaw dropped slightly, but he nodded his head.

"Okay. I don't have a problem with that. I ate a few hours

ago so I'm not all that hungry, though."

"So what. You can keep me company," Russ said,

grinning. "Introduce yourself to her, silly."

Tom smacked his head and approached her. "I'm sorry.

My name is Tom Franklin. It's a pleasure to meet you, your

highness." He bowed graciously and stood up straight.

Russ cleared his throat. "He's also the captain of the

starship that brought all of us here so quickly," he added.

Misaki's eyes lit up and she crushed him in one of her

famous hugs. "So YOU'RE the other man who made all of this

possible. Thank you so much for bringing my daughters home

for Startica! I really appreciate it."

"No trouble at all," he managed to choke out, turning

blue from lack of oxygen. She released him a few moments

later.

"Well, let's get to the dining hall. I'm starving,

especially after that workout! Azaka, Kamidake! You will

join us as well," she insisted.

"Yes ma'am," they answered in unison.

"Come on, Tom," Misaki ordered, gesturing for him to

follow her. "We're all going to the dining hall and are going

to eat dinner together."

Following the empress out of the training arena, Aeka,

Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, Russ, Azaka, Kamidake, and Tom formed a

group behind her and idly chatted the entire way to the hall.

The living quarters were on the way, so Russ quickly dropped

his stereo off in his room and rejoined the group, just as

they reached the dining room. Once again, everybody took

their usual seats, except Azaka and Kamidake sat side by side,

Russ and Tom sat opposite of them. All of them remained in

their training clothes, and neglected to take a shower once

they were finished sparring. Nobuyuki, Washu, Funaho, Asuza

and Yosho were already at the table.

Misaki sat down next to her husband who stared at her in

utter shock and surprise. Here was his wife, regal queen of

Jurai, and she looked like the barbarian sitting at the end of

the table! What on Jurai happened to her? He noticed the

appearance of the two knights as well, who also looked pretty

banged up.

"What happened to you?" Funaho asked, eyeing Asuza, and

curious herself.

"We had a little sparring match with Aeka's boyfriend.

He's really strong and fast," she explained, smiling.

Russ was in the process of taking a drink of water that

he poured for himself from one of the available pitchers, and

he nearly spat it all over the table when he heard Misaki say

that. He blushed furiously and tried to subdue his coughing,

but not being very successful. Tom just laughed and slapped

him on the back, which caused him to go into another violent

fit of coughing. Azaka and Kamidake both enjoyed his

embarrassment and surprise.

Asuza looked knives at Russ, who was just now

recovering. "Explain your actions! How dare you spar with my

wife!"

Misaki snapped her gaze at her husband and let out a

menacing snarl. "I can spar with whomever I want. I chose to

spar with him. End of story."

Asuza ignored her. "Well? I'm waiting!"

"What's the problem? We sparred. I didn't hurt her,

but only roughed her up a bit," Russ said coldly, matching the

emperor's glare.

"That's no excuse, scum! You do not spar with royalty!"

he shouted.

Russ's eyebrow twitched slightly at the insult and he

growled something to himself. "Then tell your wife that. I

was on the mat and she challenged me. What was I supposed to

do?"

"Refuse the challenge and walk away. Even the lowly

peasants understand that here," he shot back.

Misaki rose from her chair and got right in Asuza's

face, her gaze promising a very painful whipping for later if

he didn't stop his tirade. Funaho also rose from her chair

and uncharacteristically matched Misaki's motions.

"You will stop insulting him. He is our guest, and you

will treat him accordingly," Funaho said, keeping her voice

low and menacing.

Eyeing both of his wives and the disapproving stares

from everybody seated at the table, he let out an exasperated

sigh and folded his arms over his chest, sitting back in his

chair. Satisfied that they subdued him, Misaki and Funaho

both sat down and smiled, as if nothing had happened.

Tenchi, Ryoko, Kiyone, and Mihoshi all chose that moment

to join the group, and they took up their usual seats.

"Hi. Where did you two run off to?" Aeka asked, smiling

at the two and pretending to ignore her father's silent rage.

"We toured part of the city. There is a lot of neat

stuff here that is considerably different in comparison to

Earth," Tenchi told her. "It's such a wonderful planet."

"Yes. It has a different kind of beauty than what we

see on Earth." Aeka looked at the two of them a little more

closely and started giggling.

"What's so funny, Aeka?" Ryoko asked, confused.

"You two were eating something, weren't you? You both

have a ring of candy around your lips," Aeka told them,

giggling and shaking her head. "I hope you didn't spoil your

dinner appetite."

Both of them blushed slightly. "We're still hungry.

Don't worry about that. But I am confused about why nobody

will let me pay for anything," Tenchi mussed.

Misaki smiled. "That's because you're the prince of

Jurai, silly. We get the same treatment whenever we leave the

palace."

"But I'm not the prince! I'm just a"

Misaki interrupted him. "Nonsense. You are the true

prince of Jurai, and you proved it when you defeated Kagato.

Now, no more of that rubbish," she ordered, sternly.

Ryoko sighed and noted that she'd have to live with the

fact that he really is the prince. But still, him being of

royalty seemed so surreal. He didn't act regal or anything

of the sort. But that was why she loved him. He was so

simple and kind, and that's all that mattered to her.

At the other end of the table, Russ was conversing with

Tom, when their topic of discussion wandered onto anime. They

both had the same love for animated material, but strangely,

they both preferred dubbed versions in their native language

of English.

"Hey Russ, have you ever seen Saber Marionette J

before?" Tom asked, curious if that was something that Russ

HADN'T seen.

"Actually, no. What's it like?"

Tom nearly fell out of his chair. "Wow. An anime

you've never watched. Amazing."

Russ rolled his eyes. "Cut out the sarcasm and tell me

about it, butthead."

"Okay, okay. It's really cool. To explain it in a

nutshell, there is this kid who is one of six survivors of a

colony ship that had blown up in outer space. The drop ship

managed to make it down to the planet, but only the six

survived. All males too, with no way of getting any outside

help. They expanded their numbers by cloning and genetic

alteration," Tom explained, watching Russ's face become more

and more interested. "Later, they managed to expand their

numbers, but they still weren't able to create any women. In

place of them, they made these things called Marionettes, or

robotic women to do their bidding. But anyway, the kid

somehow managed to wake up three very special Marionettes with

something called Maiden Circuits, which gives them emotions.

Not only that, but the fight scenes are really neat. They

remind me of how you fight, meaning they do it really fast and

action packed. A little later in the story, an evil tyrant,

Faust, emerges and tries to start a war with Japoness, and it

winds up that Otaru and his girls have to go stop him. Oh

yeah, even though the girls are robotic, all three of them

fall in love with Otaru, and they fight for his affections a

lot."

Russ nodded his head. "This sounds really cool. Do you

have the DVDs on the ship or anything so I can watch it?"

"Unfortunately, we've only got the first two volumes. I

have been unable to get the third volume as of yet. The first

nine episodes are completely off the wall and funny, but the

next eight episodes, or the second volume, have a few

depressing and emotional scenes. It's really good. And the

soundtrack absolutely kicks ass," Tom said, watching his

friend's excitement grow.

"I have to see it. Once we're done with dinner, I'm

going to your ship to borrow the videos to watch them

tonight," Russ said, smiling.

"Oh, you won't have to do that," he said, producing two

DVD cases from a pocket in his jacket. "Here they are. The

girl on the front of volume one here is named Lime, and the

one on the second case here is named Cherry. You'll learn

about them and meet them in the first five episodes. There is

a third Marionette named Bloodberry, too." He lowered his

voice and leaned closer to Russ. "But frankly, if I had to

compare them to people we know, Lime would be a perfect

Mihoshi, Cherry would be a perfect combination of Aeka and

Sasami, and Bloodberry would make a perfect replica of Ryoko."

Russ raised his eyebrows considerably. "You're

kidding."

"No. I'm serious. It's almost as if those characters

were modeled after everybody in this room."

"Wait. How do you know what Aeka, Sasami, Ryoko, and

Mihoshi act like? You've only seen them for about 15 minutes

total onboard the ship!"

"Just because I'm not with you, doesn't mean I'm not

keeping an eye on you," Tom said, slyly.

Russ clenched his fists under the table. "You were

spying on us the whole time? Haven't you ever heard of

PRIVACY?" he hissed.

"Don't worry. There are cameras and stuff in the game

room, and that's where I noticed how everybody behaved. I

didn't look in on you when you were sleeping or anything. I'm

not that perverted," Tom said, suppressing a laugh.

Russ sighed. "Well, okay. I can't wait to see these

episodes. And I'm going to want the soundtrack too."

Tom produced a CD from his coat pocket and handed it

over. "Done and done," he said, grinning.

"Awesome. You come prepared for everything, don't you?"

"You bet. But we better put this conversation on hold.

Most everybody is staring at us."

Both Tom and Russ looked up from their discussion and

noticed that indeed, most everybody was watching them in

interest. Feeling their faces redden, they smiled sheepishly

and began to mind their own business.

"That sounds like a really neat anime. I want to see it

too," Misaki said, clasping her hands together and smiling.

"Me too," Sasami added. Ryo-Ohki meowed a couple times,

indicating that she wanted to see it too.

"Me three," Aeka said.

Tenchi, Ryoko, Azaka, Kamidake, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and

Nobuyuki all agreed as well.

"I had no idea you guys liked animated stuff," Tom said,

boldly joining in the conversation. "We've got many others if

you're interested. But that will have to wait for later,

because here comes dinner."

The kitchen door was held open by one of the servants as

many more filed through, each holding large trays piled high

with delicious food. Napkins were laid out over laps and the

sound of clattering silverware greeted everybody's ears as the

food was given out to everybody.

Tom stared at all the food, barely able to keep from

drooling. "Wow! All of this is prepared fresh? I haven't

had food like this in a long time. Everything we've eaten has

been replicated."

"It's all fresh. I guarantee you won't leave here

hungry," Russ said, grinning and trying to keep himself from

drooling as well.

"Alright. Let's dig in!" Tom announced, and beginning

to eat with gusto. "Mmmm! This stuff is AWESOME! I haven't

tasted food this good in a long time."

Funaho smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Eat as much as

you want," she invited.

"Thank you," he said, immediately shoving another piece

of fish into his mouth and washing it down with red wine.

Russ groaned. "You're going to get drunk. I can see it

already."

"Big deal. Everybody here, except for Sasami and you,

is drinking a little wine."

"Oh, shut up." Russ began eating at his usual pace,

which meant his dinner plate was scraped clean in ten seconds.

He let out a quiet, but very deep belch, and he did his best

to conceal it. Nevertheless, it was loud enough to raise

chuckles around the entire table.

"Yum," Russ said, rubbing his stomach. "I'm ready for

seconds!"

Now everybody laughed out loud, except for Asuza, who

ignored him completely. Everybody ate most of the food in

relative silence until Tom thought of something.

"Hey Russ?" he began

The Saiyan turned toward him with a mouthful of noodles.

"Hmmm?"

"I'm assuming you remember Era, the musical group?"

He nodded yes.

"Would you like to do a live performance of it here on

Jurai? You know, during the Startica festival? I think that

would be really cool. And a lot of people on the ship want to

do it too," Tom said.

"Really? I suppose we could do that. But where would

we do it? It's not like we can just throw a concert together

in five minutes. We'd have to practice and stuff. Besides, I

want to play the drums this time," Russ added, grinning.

"That's no problem. We just recently came out with a

portable holographic technology that will allow us to do

whatever we want. We can make a stage in a couple seconds and

all the instruments would be holographic, unless we made real

ones."

"Interesting. Well, what album would we do? The first

one or the second one?" Russ asked, taking another piece of

tofu and swallowing it whole.

"Most of the second and a couple from the first. The

more peppy tracks. The ones we both like the most."

"I don't know about this. I'll have to think about it.

When do you want to practice, and where would we practice?"

Everybody was listening to the two discuss their plans,

but Misaki and Funaho both became very interested. However,

it was Funaho who answered first.

"You could practice in our auditorium, and do the actual

concert there too, if you'd like," Funaho offered. "It's

really large and can seat a lot of people. How much were you

going to charge to let people in?"

Russ and Tom both facefaulted, then laughed. "We don't

charge for anything we do. We like to do these things because

we enjoy them, not to make money. Onboard the ship, there is

no money, and we have no use for it either," Tom explained,

causing the empress to look at them in mild shock.

"No money? Why?"

"As I said before, we don't need it. Our ship is self-

sustaining, but if we see something new that we'd like, we

simply trade technology for it."

A world without money seemed almost impossible, but it

also seemed like paradise if they managed to make it work.

Apparently, they had.

"Well, I'm interested to hear what you guys are going to

play. When shall you practice?"

"We could do it tonight. I had brought my portable

projector with me so we can begin soon after dinner. I'll

just have to contact my ship and tell the people to come down

here. No problem."

Funaho nodded. "Okay. Don't hesitate to ask us if you

need anything else."

"Thanks."

Dinner passed with small bits of conversation from

everybody, but no major roundtable discussions. Russ and Tom

continued to argue about anime, Azaka and Kamidake discussed

their sparring match against Russ, Kiyone and Mihoshi talked

about the two dresses they were given and how they were

looking forward to tomorrow, and other conversations floated

around the table.

Once dinner was finished, dessert was served. A

delicious frozen treat native to Jurai was handed out, and was

consumed almost as fast as the main course. It was sweet like

ice cream, but had a texture similar to cookie dough.

The sun had already disappeared from view, and the night

sounds began to play around the palace when everybody stood up

from the table and proceeded to go do some nightly activities.

However, everybody agreed that they should head to bed soon to

get an early start on the next day.

Startica promised a day filled with fun and joy, with

many enjoyable activities. Booths were being set up all along

the main roads, filled with games to play and merchandise and

prizes to win.

In outer space around Jurai, hundreds of Jurai vessels

converged on the planet almost all at once, doing their best

to find stationary orbital parking places so the crew could go

down to the planet and enjoy themselves. Galaxy Police

cruisers were everywhere directing traffic, doing their best

to assist the Jurians in their dilemma. It was a very busy

time for the GP, and some of them loathed the duty shifts they

pulled, since they knew how busy the space around Jurai got

during the Startica festival. Fortunately for Tom and his

crew, they allowed the Star Destroyer to remain in its

stationary orbit above the palace. Some Jurians didn't like

outsiders receiving such wonderful treatment, but they held

their tongues and decided to just enjoy themselves rather than

start a fight. Some vessels hadn't come home for nearly six

months.

Back on the planet, ground crews were busily organizing

parking places for the hundreds of expected shuttlecraft, and

other areas for people to transport to en masse. Galaxy

Police officers and shuttles were stationed on the planet just

for the Startica festival, to maintain the peace and make

certain everybody had a nice and safe time.

This year's turnout was expected to be the highest in

history, and most everybody was busily preparing for it.

Inside the palace, people were scurrying everywhere, preparing

the royal ballroom for a massive party. Extra cooks were

brought in to prepare the massive quantities of food that

would be consumed, and people were setting up hundreds of

tables and thousands of chairs to accommodate the masses.

Several Jurian bands were brought in to provide music.

However, even with the sheer number of people and the

excitement that saturated the air, the setting up for the

festival took only one evening. Every person who walked by

another in the hallway was met with a smile and a warm

greeting, since everyone was happy to celebrate Startica once

again. It was truly a festive time of year.

Russ took the DVDs and the soundtracks that he received

at dinner and returned to his room to view them. Sasami had

noticed him sneaking off on his own and decided to follow him,

unnoticed by everybody else, who were busily chatting amongst

each other and discussing the potential activities for the

next day.

Pushing open his door and walking inside, he closed the

door behind him and approached the huge TV. Noticing that

there wasn't a DVD player available, he silently groaned to

himself and walked over to the stereo system that he brought

with him.

Fortunately, this all-in-one system did everything. It

played music CDs, DVDs, video CDs, and just about every type

of disc media that existed on Earth, and also had video

outputs among other remarkable features. Grabbing some cables

that he kept in a compartment behind the system, he quickly

connected them to the TV, growing more excited by the minute.

He turned the TV on and his stereo system, then popped in the

first disc of the first volume of Saber Marionette J, and hit

the play button, just as there was a light knock on the door.

Quietly mumbling obscenities to himself for being

interrupted, he intended to allow the disc to go through its

previews while he opened the door. Revealing the little blue

haired princess on the other side, he raised his eyebrows in

surprise, but smiled warmly.

"Hi! What's up?" he said cheerily, kneeling down to her

height.

"I saw you sneaking off and I wanted to see what you

were doing," she said, honestly.

"I was going to watch the DVDs that Tom gave me at

dinner, and after that, listen to the soundtracks." Russ

returned to his feet. "You want to come in or something?"

"Yeah. I'd like to watch it too. Besides, I think

watching stuff with more than one person is more fun, don't

you?" she said, looking up at him in earnest.

Russ grinned and nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah.

Okay, come on in. Let's see if I have some pop or junk food

in here so we can fully enjoy ourselves," he said, backing

away from the door and allowing Sasami to enter the room.

"I'll just send for a servant to bring us something.

Will that be okay?"

"Isn't there anything here in the room? What about that

little refrigerator over there?" he asked, walking over to the

cooler and opening the door. Cold air spewed from the box,

but once the fog cleared, it revealed nothing but a large

chunk of ice in the back. Frowning, he closed the door and

turned toward the princess. "Well, send for a servant, I

guess. The icebox is empty. I still find it odd to be waited

on. I'm used to getting everything myself."

Sasami giggled. "Just enjoy yourself and I'll take care

of the servant," she said, pressing a button on the wall. A

moment later, a woman's voice came over the intercom system.

"Hello. Can I get you anything?" she asked, politely.

"Yes. Can you bring some popcorn, tea, and just a

moment," she said, turning toward Russ. "What do you want?"

she hissed quietly.

"Oh uh um do you have anything like soda or pop

here?" he asked, finally.

"Yeah. What flavor?"

"Um, lemon-lime or something equivalent."

"Okay." She proceeded to finish the order and then cut

the comlink. "She'll be here in a few moments."

Suddenly noticing the silence from the TV, Russ turned

toward it and noticed that the screen was blank and the DVD

player was stopped. "Uh oh," he muttered, pressing play on

his system again. Hearing the disc spin up, he stepped back a

moment and watched it as it scanned the disc multiple times,

then stopped again.

"What's wrong? Doesn't it work?" Sasami asked, watching

him from a few feet away.

"I don't get it," he said, pulling the disc back out of

the stereo and examining the underside of it. "Well, there

aren't any scratches, so I don't understand what's going on."

He set the disc back into the system and pressed play again.

A few moments later, the copyright warnings came up on the TV

and Russ sighed in relief. "Let me guess," he mumbled,

pulling out the second disc and examining it. "Yup, I knew

it. These discs are the lousy ones encoded by a different

company hired by Bandai." He turned toward Sasami. "These

discs are picky about what player you put them in. Some work

just fine and some do what this thing does. But it's working

now so we shouldn't have any problems."

Grabbing the remote, Russ hit the menu button and the

system changed tracks to bring up the menu. A theme began to

play, which sounded really catchy to Russ and Sasami, and they

looked at each other with grins. Quickly grabbing a couple

chairs that were in the corner of the room, he placed them

both in the middle of the floor and invited Sasami to sit

down. He sat down a moment later.

"Alrighty. Let's see what we have here. Setup menu,"

he mumbled, fumbling with the remote as the screen changed.

"Japanese language. Alright." He frowned a moment. "Funny

how you Jurians all speak Japanese," he snickered.

"You know, I never really thought about that. Oh well,"

she giggled.

"Yeah. Okay, and PLAY!" he said, pressing the enter

button with flare and starting the program. Watching the

opening credits play, Russ noted the music and the visuals,

instantly liking what he saw and heard. Sasami also watched

the TV intently, almost not noticing when a knock on the door

came and the call of "Room Service!" on the other side of it.

Russ paused the video just as the credits were ending

and opened the door, allowing the servant in. He quickly set

up a stack table and allowed her to set everything down on top

of it, and then she left, leaving them to their animation.

"Now, if there are no more interruptions," he said,

glaring at the door, "Let's enjoy this!"

"Yay! The introduction was cool. Let's see how the

rest of it goes."

"Yeah," he answered, turning up the volume to the stereo

loud enough to hear it comfortably, and he set the remote down

on the table, grabbing a handful of popcorn and his drink,

sitting back in his chair to enjoy himself.

Several hours later, long after dusk, the palace began

to wind down and people began to head off to their rooms for a

night of insomnia and restless sleep, due to the excitement of

the Startica festival being just around the corner. The

Jurians were excited about exchanging gifts, which bared a

resemblance to Christmas on Earth. All the trees were

decorated in lights and ornaments, with lace and garland

draped over the branches. Anybody from Earth would've

expected it to BE Christmas.

However, not everybody was fully into the spirit. Back

in her room with the lights out, the little red haired

scientific genius continued to labor and toil over her phantom

computer, setting up analyses and calculating equations that

would've put Einstein to shame.

Swiftly entering the final variables with a few

keystrokes, she patiently waited for the computer to calculate

the answer, preparing to use the result for another set of

calculations that needed to be completed. However, the next

equation was expected to take the computer till morning to

work out, so she prepared herself for slumber, tossing her

science academy uniform onto the floor and slipping herself

into a nightgown that was provided.

Looking down at the fabric, she chuckled lightly as she

tried to remember the last time she had actually slept in a

bed, rather than falling asleep in mid-equation as she

tirelessly worked in her laboratory back home. She sat down

on the edge of the bed, staring out her window at the

thousands of tiny, multi-colored lights that lit up the trees.

It has been a very long time since she had made her return to

Jurai, except for the Kagato incident.

A quiet beeping caused her to lose her train of thought

as the computer had calculated the answer to her equation.

Tapping a few more keys in sequence, she set the computer to

begin its arduous task of determining and extrapolating ecto-

plasma chemical sequences. A moment later, she banished the

system back to subspace as she stood up and stretched, letting

her tense muscles relax themselves after being outdoors all

day. Not getting any exercise because of sitting in front of

the computer all day was starting to catch up to her. But it

was a beautiful day, thanks to the weather control system that

was in use.

Finally feeling sleep catch up to her, Washu tossed back

the covers to the double bed and slid herself between the

sheets, then pulled the comforter up to her neck. She let out

a soft sigh, staring at the ceiling, and then she rolled over

onto her side, drawing herself into a fetal position.

A single tear streamed down her face as she looked at

the second half of the bed, which had a set of pillows next to

her own. Stretching her arm out to it, she softly caressed

and padded the pillow, as if trying to tentatively feel

something that was there long ago, almost as if it were a

tangible thing.

Sniffling quietly and brushing the wetness away from her

face, she closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly, all alone

as she had been for the last twenty thousand years.

"Tenchiiiiii! Come on! I've been waiting all day for

this and now you don't want to?" Ryoko complained, pinning

Tenchi to the bed. "I even remembered the candy we were

supposed to eat tonight!"

Tenchi groaned to himself, reminding himself that he did

say that it would wait until nightfall, and it looked like

he'd have to live up to it. "I know, I know. I'm just a

little tired, that's all."

"Ooohhhh," she cooed, kissing him and drawing circles on

Tenchi's chest with her index finger. "Why are you always so

tired? Don't you feel well?"

"We've been busy all day. I, unlike you, have to walk

everywhere. It takes a lot of energy to do that, especially

with the distance we went today," he explained, then returning

her kiss. "It's fortunate that I'm in decent shape, or I'd be

out like a light right now."

Ryoko giggled, sliding her hand up and down his chest,

under his shirt, feeling his washboard stomach. "So you

will?"

Tenchi rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Yeah, I guess we

can. But I'd like to go to sleep soon. We're going to have

the same type of day tomorrow as we did today, but probably

more exhausting."

Ryoko crushed him in a joyous hug then teleported to the

dresser, where the bag of snack food sat. She retrieved the

bag and then teleported back to the bed, hovering a few inches

above the covers. Quickly undoing the twist tie, she tossed

it onto the floor and opened the bag, the aroma of chocolate

and something else rushing out of the bag.

Giggling to herself in anticipation, she fished out a

small chunk as Tenchi sat up, trying to get a closer look at

the contents through the illumination from the window.

"Open wide," Ryoko requested, holding the chocolate-like

snack food under Tenchi's nose. "This will get us in the

mood," she whispered.

The prince's eyes widened slightly as he opened his

mouth and allowed Ryoko to feed him the snack. Slowly mulling

the piece in his mouth, he quietly sucked on it for a few

moments, tasting the multitude of flavors coming from the

piece. It melted a few moments later and he swallowed it,

licking his lips afterwards.

"Mmmm. Tastes like chocolate, but with something

extra." He licked his lips once more as Ryoko fished out

another piece and held it out in front of him. Tenchi looked

at her skeptically for a moment, then opened his mouth once

more, taking the candy and eating it.

"Is it good?" she asked, taking a chunk and munching on

it.

He nodded his head. "Yeah. It does taste really good.

I haven't had chocolate this good before. It's so smooth and

flavorful." He stopped and thought a moment. "Hey, what did

you mean by this candy getting us in the mood?"

Ryoko grinned slyly as she floated down to the bed next

to him. "It also acts as an aphrodisiac," she giggled. "This

really turns me on and gives me a lot of energy."

Tenchi facefaulted.

Ryoko giggled as she ate another chunk of the stuff.

"Are you feeling it yet?"

Even though he was already feeling a little warmed up,

he figured he didn't need any help in that department.

However, he wasn't sure if it was the candies making him feel

that way or being in close proximity to the most beautiful

space pirate he had ever laid eyes on.

He shrugged his shoulders in response. "Beats me," he

said, kissing her with sticky lips. "Maybe we should find

out?"

Ryoko set the candy down on the nightstand and pushed

him down to the bed, preparing for another fun filled evening

with Tenchi as she began showering him with kisses and hugging

him close.

Several hours later, and long after Sasami had fallen

asleep, Russ had finished the first volume of Saber Marionette

J. Carefully removing the disc from his stereo and turning

off all the gizmos, he returned the disc to its case, and then

set it down on top of the TV.

It had been quite an endeavor to keep from laughing out

loud, since he didn't want to wake Sasami. She had fallen

asleep just after switching discs, so he carefully lifted her

out of the chair and lay her down on his bed, and carefully

tucked her in. She looked so cute that he didn't have the

heart to wake her so she could go to her own room. Ryo-Ohki

had entered his quarters a short while before Sasami dozed

off, looking for some company and wanting to be near her best

friend. But now both of them were peacefully sleeping on

Russ's bed, and he smiled, knowing that she tried her best to

stay awake, but couldn't do it because of a very active day.

Finding a spare futon in his closet, he laid it out on

the floor and got out some spare covers, preparing to go to

sleep for the night. Not feeling very tired since he was

still on a sugar high from the soda beverage that was served

to him, he quickly moved the table and chairs back to the

corner where he found them.

Checking to make sure everything for his room was in

order, he finally lay down on his bed, preparing for a night

of sleepless insomnia, thanks to the excitement factor mixed

with sugar.

He lay there for a few moments, and one thing kept

nagging him. It was too quiet. Tossing back his covers and

heading over to his duffel bag, he opened it and took out a

small desk fan. Quietly setting it down on the stack table,

he found a nearby outlet and plugged it in, then turned it on.

After a few moments, it spun up, generating the white-noise

sound that lulled him to sleep at night.

Sighing in satisfaction, he lay back down and closed his

eyes, doing his best to doze off so he would be well rested

for the next day.


	12. Chapter 12

Ep 12 Startica, Part 1

I finally decided to change this silly header. *snicker* Anyway,

everybody knows the copyright information so I'll just forgo that.

The story is approaching the end. I predict another 4 chapters, give

or take 2, and that'll be it. It's been a lot of fun writing this little

saga (which is surprising, since I have a hard time writing a 6 page

term paper!) and I hope you've enjoyed reading it too. I MAY do

a second series or continuation of the story, or I may not end this at

all. It all depends. Send all hate mail / fan mail to

.

Notice! New Website is going up for the Tenchi fans! Come

check it out at .net and sign the Guestbook, letting

me know you were there. The fanfic will also be posted there, as

will it be on the TMFFA, AND on .net.

It was black. It was an inky black like you find at a

graveyard. Tenchi lay on the ground, blood trickling from a corner

of his mouth as he clutched his chest and moaned in intense pain.

Ryoko was by his side, looking into his eyes that were filled with a

horror that had only been seen once before. Tears were running

out of her own eyes as her sword blazed into existence as she

lunged at her enemy, swinging wildly and screaming like a rabid

banshee.

An instant later, she joined Tenchi on the ground, her eyes

rolled into the back of her head, no longer showing any signs of

life. Tenchi moaned and rolled onto his side, then stared into the

lifeless face of his beloved space pirate.

Aeka stood nearby, her forcefield snapping and crackling,

trying to push back an intense force bearing down on her. Azaka

and Kamidake were at her side trying to help, but they were blown

away by the intense energy.

The forcefield finally gave out around her and she let out

a bloodcurdling scream when she was hurled through the Masaki

house, crashing through wood and plaster with a sickening crunch.

She fell silent and didn't get back up.

Yosho lay on the ground nearby, a gaping hole in his

chest as his face relived the last few seconds of his fate in a

contorted look of absolute terror. His glasses were a few feet

away, shattered.

Washu was nowhere in sight. Nobody knew what

happened to her or where she had gone. Did she live or die? She

vanished without a trace.

Tenchi somehow returned to his feet and faced his most

hated enemy, activated the sword Tenchi, and charged with a

scream of pure insanity.

He never had a chance. In a blinding flash of white

energy, his body was vaporized in an instant, leaving absolutely no

trace of Tenchi, almost as if he never existed. Sword Tenchi fell to

the ground, a red smear on the handle from its former owner.

Sasami stood defiant as she faced her mortal enemy.

Trying to summon up all her courage and the power of Tsunami,

her enemy started laughing. A cold, evil, heartless laugh rivaled

only by Kagato. It spoke to her.

"The power of Tsunami won't help you. Now, the House

of Jurai will die with you."

Sasami screamed in intense, overwhelming pain as she

lost her footing and fell onto her back, her cute face twisted into

horrendous torture, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Why?!" she screamed. "What are you doing to us!?"

Her only answer was another laugh, as it closed in on her,

concealing her in eternal blackness.

"Sasami!! Sasami, wake up! Wake up!" Russ said with

urgency, shaking her from side to side. "Wake up, darn it!"

Sasami's eyes snapped open as she sat bolt upright in his

bed, gasping for air and sweating profusely. Her small body

shuddered violently as she clamped onto Russ's arm and held it as

tightly as she could.

"It's okay now, you're awake." Russ sat down on the bed

and pulled the little princess into a protective embrace.

"Everything will be okay now. The dream is over."

"Oh my god, Russ! It was horrible!" she cried, starting to

sob uncontrollably, her body wracked with violent shudders.

Russ squeezed her more tightly, trying to console her in

the only way he knew how. "It's okay," he said again. "It was

only a dream."

She sniffled and tried to calm herself down after a few

minutes, listening to his deep, reassuring voice. "Thank you for

waking me up. I'm sorry that I woke you up though."

Russ's face pulled into a frown. "Don't apologize for

something that's not your fault. I felt a new, very strong, different

power start going crazy and that startled me out of sleep. I never

felt it before. Surprisingly, it was from you. Anyway, I would've

felt it anywhere in the palace, and I would've come running."

Sasami's eyes widened considerably as she looked into his face.

He nodded, and continued. "Even though I've only known you

guys for two weeks, I feel like a part of the family already. And

being a part of the family, I'd never let anything happen to you or

anybody. But anyway, Ryo-Ohki was also trying to wake you up,

but I guess she is a little too small to be able to do that."

The cabbit hung her head sadly and let out an apologetic

meow. Sasami sniffled and tried to smile, patting the animal on

the head.

"It's okay, Ryo-Ohki. I'm awake now. And thank you

for waking me up, Russ."

"Don't worry about it. Now, what was this scary dream

about? Do you want to talk about it? Do you think it was caused

by eating all that junk food before bedtime?" he said with a laugh,

lightly tickling her under the arm and eliciting a giggle from the

princess.

"I get nightmares once in a while, but this one was really

bad and scary. I dreamt that everybody was killed by something.

It was really horrible, and you weren't in it. However, the enemy

had said something familiar. Oh yeah, he said, 'Now, the House of

Jurai will die with you.' But it couldn't have been him. He's

dead. We killed him a long time ago."

"Killed who?" Russ asked, scratching Sasami's back and

trying to relax her, while scooting a little further onto the bed.

"His name was Kain. He was the most vicious, diabolical

being in existence. He was extremely powerful and scary too."

She shivered at the image her mind conjured up.

Russ scratched his head. "That name doesn't sound

familiar at all to me. What did he do?"

"It's a long story, but he had gone back into the past to

kill Tenchi's mother, and we had to go back to try to save her. We

did win, but Achika, who is Tenchi's mother, used up nearly all of

her power to try to defeat him. It severely shortened her lifespan

and she died shortly after Tenchi was born." Sasami hung her

head sadly. "Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and he tried to pull

us back into subspace with him even after Achika did him in. We

had to bring out Washu's Dimensional Cannon to blast him to

bits."

"Dimensional Cannon, eh? Sounds powerful."

"It was intended for destroying small galaxies."

Russ resisted the urge to facefault. "Whoa. That is a lot

of power."

"Yes. We fired it into the subspace rift right after we

pulled Tenchi's mom out. We don't know what happened after

that because the portal closed."

"I see. I'm sure it vaporized him and the area of subspace

that he was confined in. Nothing to worry about," he said, giving

her a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, okay?"

"Okay." Letting out a yawn and stretching a bit, she

looked at the clock on top of the nightstand. "It's three in the

morning. Oh no. We're going to be so tired when we get up

tomorrow morning," she complained, fretting again for having a

nightmare on such a festive occasion.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Things like this happen

from time to time. Shall I send for some warm milk or do you

think you'll be okay?"

She looked up into his face, which was lit by the pale

moonlight and the thousands of colored lights on the trees.

Sighing quietly, she lay back down onto the bed. "I'll be okay.

Will you be nearby, just in case?"

Russ smiled. "I'll be right here on the floor, Sasami. I'm

not going anywhere. I promise. And Ryo-Ohki will be here too,

right?"

The cabbit let out a stern meow and bared her fangs, as if

waiting for something to challenge her. Russ chuckled and slid off

the bed, and lay back down onto his futon.

"G'night, Sasami."

"Good night, Russ."

Russ drifted back to sleep a short time later, but Sasami

remained awake a little while longer, still frightened from the

horrid nightmare.

For the second time since the family's arrival, the light of

dawn flooded the rooms of the visitors, gracing them with its

presence. Again, birds sang their melodious warbling calls,

rousing people out of their slumber who weren't awakened by the

bright sunlight.

Windows were opened, letting in the fragrant warm air,

the smell of it filling people with excited energy. The scent of

flowers and various snack foods wafted through the air, letting

everybody know that the festival was ready to commence in full

force. The shopkeepers were already at their booths, ready to wait

on the thousands of people who would be walking by.

The sky was a crystal blue, except for the thousands of

tiny little tick marks that represented the many ships parked in

orbit. As far as the eye could see, not a cloud existed on this fine

day and made visibility fantastic.

Back in outer space, the Galaxy Police were still directing

traffic for the late arrivals, doing their best to find them a place

where their ship would remain in stationary orbit, but places were

running thin, and still more vessels continued to arrive.

Ships that resembled roadsters with flashy paintjobs,

dozens of Jurai warships, personal Galaxy Police cruisers and

shuttles, and even a small whitish silver cabbit ship were in line,

waiting to be shown to a parking place.

Finally running out of spaces for the waiting vessels

around the planet, the GP made the decision to park them around

the two moons that orbited Jurai. They brought in three huge

transports to ferry the arrivals and take them down to the planet if

they didn't want to use their personal shuttles or transports.

However, at the rate the available shuttle spots were going on

Jurai, the transports was soon to become the only way to get down

to the surface.

The white spaceship was ordered to land on the planet,

and to take the ship with her since parking was nearly gone.

Following the designated flight path, the cabbitship passed through

Jurai's atmosphere and a short moment later, landed at the

appropriate site. After teleporting herself off of her ship, it

morphed back into a furry white cabbit with red eyes and a blue

collar. It bounded up to his mistress's side and gave her an

expectant look, questioning her with a "Shaow?"

Gleaming red eyes smiled back at him as she began

walking off into the massive crowd of people, the cape on her

shoulders billowing out behind her revealing her energy whip and

gun, and her cabbit began to bound energetically after his owner.

Yosho stepped out of his bedroom just a moment before

the servants knocked on his door, with the intention of telling him

that the empress had summoned everybody to breakfast, and that

they were there to tidy his room. Giving the lady a casual nod and

a smile, he turned down the hall and began to make his way to the

table.

He passed by Russ's room, which had a servant outside

who looked quite agitated, as she balled up her fist and pounded on

the door. Taking a moment to watch, the servant waited a few

more moments before trying the door handle, which was locked.

She frowned and raised her hand to pound on the door again, but

Yosho grasped her elbow just before she brought her fist to the

door.

Looking on him with surprise, she bowed humbly upon

recognizing the other Jurian prince. "Excuse me, your highness,"

she said, turning and preparing to leave.

"Hold on. What seems to be the trouble here?" he asked,

startling the maid.

"Oh, uh, well, it seems that Russ hasn't woken up. The

empress demands everybody's attendance at breakfast, but I can't

seem to get him to open the door."

Yosho couldn't help but laugh. "Don't you have a key to

go into his room?"

"We're not supposed to go in there unless he's gone. It's

against the rules to barge in on a guest."

"I see. Give me the key and I'll wake him up," he told

her with an impish grin.

"Yes, my lord."

Staring after her, he shook his head, not entirely used to

being treated as royalty. Thinking back to the aftermath of the

Kagato incident, he did remember how he indulged himself a bit,

as many servant women were tending him. Nobuyuki really

indulged himself, but he did more checking out of the women in

comparison as to what they were bringing him.

However, he really did enjoy being pampered, but

working for a living also had its own charm, and a much greater

degree of satisfaction. Fortunately, this was only a vacation and

nothing more, or he could get really used to being spoiled.

His train of thought was interrupted as the maid returned

with the key to Russ's room. Taking the key and pushing it into

the lock, he turned it slowly and the door unlocked itself.

Opening the door carefully, he peered into the bedroom

and stopped in his tracks. The sly, evil grin on his face melted

away and was replaced with a look of shock, but then that

transformed into a warm smile.

Russ and Sasami were both lying on the floor, right next

to each other, with the blanket underneath Russ's arm and just

below Sasami's neck. The little princess was snuggled right up

against Russ's chest, and his arm was draped over her in a relaxed

hug. Ryo-Ohki lay on the pillow right next to Sasami's head. All

three of them were still in peaceful slumber, totally unaware of the

servant's hammering on the door or Yosho's intrusion.

Whispering something to the maid, she quickly ran off

once again and returned a moment later with the object of his

desire. Carefully taking aim, he pushed the button on the small

box, causing a bright flash from the bulb and a quiet whining from

the internal motor of the Polaroid camera. Taking the photo in his

hand, he gave the camera back to the maid and she returned it to

his room.

They looked so cute together that he didn't want to wake

them, but he knew he'd have to, or the Royal Family would have

an absolute fit. Silently moving across the floor like a skilled

ninja, he knelt down in front of the sleeping trio and began to

gently shake all three of them awake. It took a bit of effort, but

they eventually started to show signs of life.

Stretching and yawning, all three of them opened their

eyes and looked up into Yosho's grinning face, wondering why he

was there. A moment later, Russ noticed where Sasami was and he

withdrew his arm, a slightly confused look on his visage.

"Good morning, you two. Breakfast is about to be served

so you better get going." Yosho returned to his feet as they both

sat up and yawned.

"Thanks," Russ answered, letting out another yawn and

stretching his arms. "We'll be there in a few moments."

Yosho nodded and then left the room, taking the picture

with him.

Sasami giggled and looked up into Russ's face. "Thank

you for keeping me company last night. You made me feel a lot

better and safer."

Russ put on a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his

head. "Sure. How come you got out of bed last night? I had no

idea you were even here with me."

"I still felt a little scared, but you fell asleep right away. I

hope you didn't mind me sleeping here with you," she said, a little

worried.

Russ chuckled. "I don't mind at all. Do you feel better

now?"

"Yes. I just want to forget about that dream." Yawning,

she stretched, then stood up, but flopped back onto the bed.

"Ohhh, I don't want to get up," she complained.

Russ imitated her movements and flopped onto the bed

himself. "Me neither. I'm still sleepy. It's too early." He started

laughing as he stretched himself out once more and let out a deep

groan.

"Well, I can't be too lazy or mom will get mad," she said,

sitting up. However, Russ grabbed the back of her clothes and

pulled her back down with a playful chuckle.

"Let's be lazy for a few more minutes. I still need to

wake up a little more."

Sasami giggled and sighed, and stared up at the ceiling.

"Today is going to be fun. I can't wait to play the games and stuff

they have here."

"Me too. This is the first time I've been to this planet, so

everything is new to me." Russ tilted his head back a bit and

looked out the window. Even though everything was upside down,

he could already see hundreds of people parading the streets,

stopping at various booths and playing games, doing their best to

win the ridiculously hard games for one of the various prizes.

"I liked that anime we started watching last night. That

was really neat and funny," Sasami said, turning toward Russ and

looking on him with her pink eyes.

"Yeah. It's pretty crazy. I watched the second disc even

though you had fallen asleep. I had to see what happened next."

Sasami giggled. "You're impatient, aren't you?"

Russ pursed his lips and stuck out his tongue, giving her a

raspberry. "Okay, so I am. Big deal. Drives me crazy if I don't

know what happens next."

The little princess giggled as she sat up once again.

Suddenly, her senses were overcome with an overwhelming

ticklish feeling coming from under her arms, as she squealed in

surprise, then exploded laughing. Russ was busily working his

hands around her sides, inflicting hilarious torment, and laughing

along with her.

"Stop it," she screamed though her fit of giggling and

laughing, the tears almost ready to start streaming down her face

from laughing so hard. "Please! We have to go eat

breakfast!" she shrieked, now trying to get away from Russ's

hands.

He clasped her in his arms and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Are we awake enough to go eat now? Or do we need a little more

torture?" he cackled evilly, but with a huge grin.

"No more," she panted, wiping her eyes. "Come on, let's

go. I'm feeling a little hungry."

"Yes, your highness," Russ said, winking at her. "But we

should take a shower or a bath before we go to the table. I need a

shower from all that exercise yesterday."

"Yeah, me too. I'll go back to my room and take a quick

bath and get some fresh clothes on."

Russ grinned as he leaned over and sniffed the air over

her. "Whew" he said, pulling his face into a disgusted wrinkle,

then started laughing.

She looked up at him in mock horror, then punched him

in the arm and got up, making her way to the door, giggling the

whole time. Russ stood up and followed, opening the door just

before she opened it herself. She looked at him and grinned.

"After you," he invited. "See you in a little bit."

Taking the invitation with finesse, she skipped out the

door and Russ shut it, then quickly turned toward the bathroom,

shedding his clothing on the way.

After they both had their shower, they met each other in

the hallway, and casually made their way down to the Royal

Dining Hall. Wonderful smells and the sound of idle chatter came

from the other side of the door as Russ eagerly pushed it open,

revealing everybody seated at the table and the food being served.

Everybody turned their heads toward the late arrivals, but smiled

and greeted them warmly as they took their respective seats.

Everyone had a smile from the overwhelming excitement.

However, Tom was absent.

As the family dug in to the awaiting breakfast, Aeka

looked at her little sister, who at present moment was indulging

herself in her meal.

"Where were you last night, Sasami? You never came to

bed."

Before she could answer, Yosho cleared his throat and

slid something across the table to her. Arching an eyebrow for a

moment, she accepted the picture and looked at it. Almost

immediately her face melted into a warm smile as she looked at

both Russ, and then Sasami.

"Aww, you guys are SO cute!" she giggled. Both Russ

and Sasami looked at her with blank expressions, wondering what

in the world she was holding.

"Let me see that," Misaki asked, reaching over and

allowing Aeka to hand her the photo. Her face pulled into utter

surprise, and then her eyes sparkled as her expression went to pure

affection. "Oh my lord, they ARE cute. Here, look at this,

Funaho," she said, handing over the photo.

The empress carefully accepted the image and looked at

it, and had much the same reaction as everybody else who had seen

it. It then began making its way around the table to let everybody

see the picture. However, they skipped both Russ and Sasami, not

wanting them to see what it was just yet. However, when they

finished, Russ's impatience got the better of him.

"Okay, what is that thing you're passing around?" he

demanded, reaching for the photo that Azaka had, but he pulled it

away with a sly grin.

"Should I give it to him, your highness?" he asked.

"Yeah, let him see it now," she laughed, waiting to see

what his reaction would be.

Before he knew it, the picture was out of his hand and

was now in Russ's. He looked at it for a few moments, and then

grinned. "You're right. That is cute, isn't it?" Everybody nodded

in agreement. "Sasami fell asleep last night as we were watching

the anime Tom had given me. Instead of waking her up, I just let

her sleep in my bed and I slept on the floor. However, she had a

bad dream last night and I guess she felt scared. No harm done."

Aeka looked a little worried and decided that she'd ask

about the dream later, since she knew that when Sasami had horrid

nightmares, it usually was a warning that something bad was going

to happen. However, the only problem with it all was the fact is

she didn't know when it was going to happen. But it would be best

to prepare for the worst if her dream became a reality.

However, she couldn't help but smile and have a warm,

fuzzy feeling inside at Russ's generosity. He was so kind and

considerate, easygoing and appeared to be happy and fulfilled.

However, he also had a slight aura of sadness about him too.

Sasami looked very contented and happy, which was unusual for

her after having one of those nightmares. Whatever Russ had done

the night before had worked wonders, and it gave her a

wonderfully pleasant feeling. This was a man unlike any other she

had ever met. Not even Tenchi had managed to calm her down as

much as he had.

With that, breakfast passed without incident, and once

they finished, they all met outside on the palace steps, preparing to

join the masses for the festival. Maps of the local area were

handed out, and everybody split up into smaller groups. Kiyone,

Mihoshi, and Washu decided to head off together, Tenchi and

Ryoko went off on their own, Aeka, Sasami, Russ, Ryo-Ohki,

Misaki, Azaka, and Kamidake formed a rather large group, and

Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, and Funaho became the last group. Asuza

declined any invitation to join in the festivities and returned to the

palace.

Just as they were about to disperse, two extremely large

transports and one smaller one came into view and landed at one of

the palace landing pads, which happened to be the same one that

was occupied by Russ's Tie Defender. Six Tie Advanced

starfighters escorted the transports, and they managed to find

spaces to land on the same pad.

"Looks like Tom has brought down some of his crew to

enjoy the festivities," Russ said, staring at the gigantic Escort

Transports and the smaller Assault Transport.

The massive doors of the transports hissed open,

revealing nearly a thousand people in each transport, all on various

decks. The pilots of the Tie Advanced remained in their fighters,

preparing to escort the transports back to the Star Destroyer to get

another load of crew to bring down to the surface.

People of all shapes, sizes, and colors disembarked from

the massive transport, and dispersed themselves in the crowd,

drawing curious stares from many of the native Jurians. With a

loud roar, the dual ETRs and the ATR lifted off the pad with the

six fighters, and proceeded back into the atmosphere.

"Well, get going, people! The day has just begun!

Fireworks will be shown tonight, so make sure to get back here by

seven o'clock so we can eat, and then we'll go to our special area

to view the show!" Misaki shouted with much enthusiasm.

A collective nod, a few departing words, and the four

groups went their separate ways, ready for a day of fun filled

activities, and an evening of fireworks and gift giving.

"So Aeka, where should we go first?" Sasami asked,

walking beside her sister. "Should we play some of the games or

would you like to ride the roller coaster?

Smiling down at her sister, she shrugged her shoulders.

"It's up to you, Sasami. What would you like to do?"

"I don't know! There are just so many things to do here.

I don't know where to begin!" she giggled in delight.

"Why not start at that booth over there and then make our

way down the block until we reach the end?" Misaki suggested,

walking beside Russ. "That game looks fun."

Sasami laughed as she ran over to the very tall and wide

stand, which had a few individuals throwing baseballs, trying to

win a prize. A slender young man greeted the princess with a

warm smile and a humble bow. The rest of the group came up

behind her and he greeted them accordingly.

"Hello there, Princess Sasami," he greeted in a light, soft

voice. "Would you like to play the game and win a prize?"

Smiling widely, she nodded. "How do I play?"

"Well, you take this ball here and try to knock down all

the pins. You have to throw it hard though, or they won't fall over.

Here," he said, handing her a ball. "Take a free shot at it so you

can get the feel of it. You get two throws."

"Thank you." She accepted the ball as her complexion

went to full concentration, and a moment later, she hurled the ball

at the pins, knocking down four of the six targets. The young man

handed her a second ball and she threw it with a grunt, knocking

down one of the remaining two pins.

"Very good, Princess! Tell me, is this the first time

you've done this before?" he asked with genuine enthusiasm.

Sasami nodded eagerly. "I've never played this game in

my life."

"You have fantastic aim and an excellent throwing arm.

Would you like to try again? You can win one of these prizes," he

said, gesturing to a huge, blue, stuffed bear. The toy was even

larger in size than Sasami herself.

"No thanks," she answered, turning toward Aeka. "Your

turn, sister."

Again, the young Jurian smiled and greeted her

respectfully. "Princess Aeka, how are you today? You get a free

chance to win a prize," he announced, holding out a ball.

"It's okay. I don't really want to play, but Sasami can

take my turn if she wants," she answered, smiling down at her

sister.

"Come on, Aeka! We've got an entire day to mess

around. Please play the game. It'll make me very happy," Sasami

encouraged.

Sighing in resignation, Aeka stepped forward and

accepted the ball from the young man. Taking a deep breath, she

tightened her grip on the ball, brought her arm back, and hurled it

with all her might at the pins. However, the end result was

disappointing.

Sasami giggled. "Well, at least you got one of them, but

now you get a second ball. Go Aeka!" she cheered.

Russ was quaking in barely restrained laughter, as he

muttered comments under his breath, which were just loud enough

for Azaka and Kamidake to hear. They both grinned, resembling

teenagers again.

Frowning in concentration, she hurled the ball at the

remaining pins, and managed to knock all but one down.

Coincidentally, the same pin that Sasami was unable to knock

over. A polite round of applause greeted her ears as everybody

smiled at her, and congratulated her on getting almost all of the

pins. She took a step back and smiled, and then noticed that the

three men of the group were grinning from ear to ear.

"Who's up next?" Sasami called, looking at Azaka,

Kamidake, her mother, and Russ.

Ryo-Ohki stood beside Sasami, and tugged on her sleeve,

giving her an indication that she wanted to be next. She meowed a

couple of times and smiled.

"Okay, it's your turn, Ryo-Ohki! Let's see what you can

do!"

Giving her a determined meow, she grasped the ball from

the boy, and without taking aim, she hurled it at the pins, missing

all of them by a mile.

"Concentrate, Ryo-Ohki! Aim at the bottom middle pin,

and the rest should fall down!" Sasami indicated, pointing at the

intended target.

Again, Russ made a smart comment about where the ball

went, and a round of chuckles went between him and the

guardians. Aeka watched them out of the corner of her eye, but

remained quiet.

The clerk handed the ball over to the cutest little girl he

had ever seen, and stepped aside. Ryo-Ohki's forehead beaded

with perspiration from concentrating so hard, and when she was

satisfied that she could do it, she released the ball and threw it at

the intended target. However, she only managed to knock over the

very top pin, a result of tossing it too high.

"Aww, better luck next time. Who's next?" the clerk

asked.

Misaki stepped forward, and held out her hand. "I'd like

a try please."

Russ leaned forward to both guardians. "We're in trouble

now," he muttered, and then began snickering again. The

guardians both cracked amused grins.

"Yes, ma'am. Here you are," he said, handing over the

ball. "Good luck!"

Winding up and hurling the ball with incredible force, she

blasted five of the six pins over in one shot, scattering them behind

the table. However, the same pin that Sasami and Aeka missed

still stood. Accepting the second ball and throwing it, she didn't

concentrate enough and she missed the pin by the width of a piece

of paper.

"Rats!" she shouted, stomping her foot. "I should've had

that too." She then started laughing. "Anyway, who's up next?"

The three men who were standing behind everybody else

simply looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Without

warning, Kamidake stumbled forward a step, a look of surprise on

his face. He turned around and noticed both Russ and Azaka

quietly snickering, trying to keep from laughing out loud.

"Alright, which one of you did that?" he asked, mildly

perturbed.

They both looked at each other and shrugged their

shoulders, deciding to keep him in the dark. Eyeing both of them

suspiciously, he turned around and noticed everybody else was

quietly giggling amongst himself or herself. Giving up, he allowed

Sasami to hand him a ball and he to approached the booth, where

the doomed pins were waiting. Carefully taking aim, he threw the

ball directly at the bottom center pin, and all the pins except the

two on the ends fell over.

"Aw man! There's no way I can knock both over at

once."

"That's because you suck," Russ cackled under his breath,

causing Azaka to start laughing out loud. Kamidake stared hard at

both of them and took a deep breath, relaxing himself a bit.

"Don't worry about it," Sasami encouraged. "Just get one

of the two."

Kamidake smiled as he accepted the ball again, and he

threw it at one of the pins. It fell over with a soft thud, but the

other pin that everybody else missed remained standing.

Turning around, he pointed his index finger at his

counterpart. "I think it was you who pushed me. You're up next,

Azaka."

Still grinning, Azaka casually walked up to the booth and

accepted the ball, and hurled it at the pins. The ball hit the bottom

middle pin from the right side, and tapped the other pin that

everybody else missed. The middle one fell over, but again, that

same pin remained standing, along with the other one at the other

side; the same bedposts that Kamidake had.

Russ raised an eyebrow and didn't make any wisecracks.

The pin on the end didn't even wobble.

Looking quite agitated, Azaka accepted the second ball

and he took careful aim at the pin everybody else was unable to

knock over, however when he released the ball, his wrist twisted

slightly and he wound up knocking over the other pin.

"This game is harder than it looks. Oh well. It's your

turn now, Russ. Let's see how good your aim is. Hopefully it's as

good as your wisecracks."

"Alright, alright. I'm coming," he mumbled, approaching

the booth. Sasami clapped her hands in encouragement and

Aeka's smile grew slightly.

Accepting the ball, he took careful aim between the

bottom middle pin and the pin everybody else missed. Winding

up, he tossed the ball directly on target, however, what happened

really made everybody's jaw drop in shock. The ball was perfectly

aimed, however, the pin everybody else missed didn't fall over, but

the middle one was knocked out easily. All the other pins fell

over, except for the one.

"What the hell? I hit it and it didn't fall over?" Russ

growled. "Give me the other ball."

The clerk's forehead beaded with perspiration, as

everybody else's visage went to angry skepticism.

Carefully taking aim again, Russ lobbed the ball directly

on target, and the ball bounced off the pin without so much as

wobbling it.

"I knew it! You cheating prick!" he yelled, a small green

ball of ki appearing in his hand. Before anyone could stop him, he

hurled his ki ball at the pin and it totally annihilated the target, the

stand, and put a hole through the back of the booth.

Everybody else glared daggers at the clerk, who was now

quaking in fear. "Do you have an explanation for this?" Russ

asked. "There are several things I cannot stand or tolerate.

Cheaters and liars are two of them. You're lucky I'm in a good

mood or you'd cease to exist," he snarled, grabbing the clerk by his

robes and pulling him directly in front of his face, lifting him

nearly a foot off of the ground with one hand. Surprisingly,

everybody else just looked on casually and didn't say a word, nor

move to stop him.

Unable to speak, the clerk audibly wet himself. Russ

noticed the growing wetness on his robes and the odor of urine

reaching his nostrils. Feeling a pang of guilt, he set the horrified

clerk back down on the ground, and he softened his gaze. "Do not

ever cheat anyone. It's not fair to them, and I'm certain you

wouldn't want to be cheated either."

A moment later, Russ felt a strange sensation, and he

turned toward the group. A massive crowd of people was staring

at him and the clerk, and Russ took in a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm sorry about that, everyone. Let's go. This day sure isn't

starting off nice," he said, looking down at the ground.

Misaki approached and stood in front of him. "It's okay.

This happens from time to time. It's not your fault. And I like the

way you handled the situation anyway. You scared that man half

to death, and I think that had a more profound effect on him than

throwing him in jail." She smiled and nodded her head to the side.

"But you did knock over that pin, and therefore, you've won a

prize! Which prize do you want?"

Russ couldn't help but laugh. "I'll take one of those huge

bears in green, please."

A second clerk who was behind the table rushed over to

the stockpile, grabbed the prize, and trembling, he handed it over

to Russ, who accepted it with a smile. "Thank you kindly."

"Yes s...s...sir. You have an n...nice day," he

stammered out, his forehead drenched in stressed sweat.

Turning away, he held the bear in front of him, with a

huge grin on his face. "This thing is huge. What am I going to do

with it for the rest of the day?" he fretted, and scratched his head.

A moment later, he released the bear and it floated above him,

almost as if it were possessed.

Sasami gasped in surprise. "What did you do? Is it doing

that?"

Russ smiled. "No. I'm using something called

telekinesis to hold it there. It takes a slight amount of

concentration and energy to do it, but it doesn't bother me. Makes

it easier than holding it the whole time," he explained.

"Cool! Can you lift me like that?"

Without warning, she floated off of the ground with a

look of surprise, but she calmed down as she came to rest on

Russ's shoulders. "How's this?"

"That's so neat. Well, let's go! There are more games to

play and more things to see!"

Everybody else smiled as they obeyed the little princess,

and made their way down the street, looking for a new game to

play and more prizes to win.

Off on an adjacent street, Kiyone, Mihoshi, and Washu

were casually walking down one of the shop-filled streets of Jurai.

Hundreds of thousands of articles of clothing, technology,

kitchenware, appliances, jewelry, and other popular items of

interest were arranged outside the front of the shops, all with sale

and clearance tags. The doors to the shops were wide open,

intending to invite more customers in the store to browse their

selection.

Nearly every store had at least one employee standing on

the outside, trying to draw attention to their business. Some were

ringing bells, others were handing out flyers, and still others were

on megaphones, shouting out their tremendous deals.

In the middle of the street, several huge tents were set up,

and still more merchandise was put out from the surrounding

stores. The employees were running around from one end to the

other, assisting customers whenever they found something they

wanted.

The sheer number of people in the street and browsing the

stores was staggering. There was never a moment when a person

was more than ten feet from another. In the stores and under the

tents, it was shoulder to shoulder, as they slowly shuffled their way

around the place.

"Wow, look at all these people! I've never seen so many

in one place before," Mihoshi sighed in awe. "It's so exciting!"

"Yeah. Well, what do you say we do a little shopping,

and after we finish, we can go play a few games on the next

block?" Kiyone suggested.

"Sounds good to me. I'd like to see what new high tech

gadgets these people have created while I've been away. It sure is

a lot different than what I remember from the last Startica festival I

attended." Washu stopped at a nearby table and began browsing

the selection of electronic equipment. Kiyone and Mihoshi stood

behind her, idly watching Washu's growing interest as she picked

up a really strange looking object. It looked like a baseball with a

large bar through the middle of it, which protruded out both ends.

The ball itself was directly in the middle of the bar. Not finding it

impressive, she set it back down on the table and backed away, as

two more individuals took her place.

"What was that thing, Washu?" Mihoshi asked

innocently.

"It was a micro energy generator, but I found it to be

terribly inefficient. No need to buy junk like that now, is there?"

she said, grinning. The shopkeeper, on the other hand, stared at

her, trying not to be offended by her seemingly superior attitude.

He kept quiet and turned his attention to another customer who

approached him.

"I suppose you're right. Well, do we need anything

here?" asked Kiyone, looking down the block, trying to get a better

view of the shops and tents.

"Not me."

"I'm getting hungry," Mihoshi complained.

"You're always hungry! Isn't there a day when you don't

complain about getting hungry?" Kiyone growled. However, she

blushed slightly when her own stomach croaked.

"You were saying?" Washu asked innocently, smiling up

at Kiyone.

"I was saying, I'm getting hungry is all," she laughed,

embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Mihoshi. Let's find a restaurant nearby

so we can chow down. What are you in the mood for?"

"Oh, anything is fine, as long as it tastes like Sasami's

cooking!"

"I second that! How about we try that place right over

there? It looks like an Earth equivalent of a steakhouse," Washu

indicated, pointing at a building between a clothing shop and an

appliance store. It had a green canopy over the entrance, and a

well-groomed host stood outside, greeting people as they walked

in.

"Looks expensive. Can we afford to go in there?"

"Kiyone, come on! I'm sure you couldn't eat anything

that didn't taste like Sasami's cooking either. Besides, we're

supposed to enjoy ourselves today!" Mihoshi giggled emphatically.

"We won't be able to enjoy ourselves at all if we don't

have any money, you know."

"Don't worry about funds, girls. I've got us covered this

time," Washu said, pulling out a credit card. The photo ID on the

card was Washu, in her adult form.

Grinning evilly, she waved her hand over the card, and

the identification changed to little Washu, almost as if it were

magic.

"Washu! What are you doing? Where did you get a card

like that?" Kiyone started.

"Not to worry. I've had this card for a long time, but I

never had a reason to use it. Most of the time I just make what I

need, so I have no need to buy anything," she chuckled, looking

down at the card.

"But"

"Shush. Come on, let's just go enjoy ourselves," Mihoshi

interjected. "Besides, I'm STARVING!"

Hanging her head in defeat, Kiyone silently trudged

behind the other two women.

"Ahhh, that was a nice meal, don't you think?"

"Even though it wasn't as good as Sasami's cooking, I've

had a taste for fast food for quite a while. I'm surprised you like it

so much Ryoko."

Both Tenchi and Ryoko were sitting outside a caf, which

had tables, chairs, and umbrellas set outside, so the customers

could enjoy the weather and eat outdoors.

After shrugging her shoulders, she wiped her mouth off

with a napkin. "What's the big deal? It's not like it's going to

make me fat."

"I didn't mean it like that, Ryoko," Tenchi groaned,

rolling his eyes.

"Oh? Then how did you mean it?" she said, narrowing

her own eyes slightly.

"I'm just surprised, is all. Nothing more to it than that,"

he said quickly, hoping that she'd drop the subject.

"Yeah right," she answered, lightly punching him in the

arm. "You think I'm going to get all fat and lazy now, don't you?"

"What?! Ryoko, what are you talking about?"

"It's true. Just admit it," she cried, looking away.

"You're probably thinking, 'Oh, she's going to get fat from eating

all that fast food and then she won't be pretty anymore.' That's

what you're thinking, isn't it?"

Groaning, he put his hand to his head and tried to think of

something that would save him. "Ryoko, you'll always be

beautiful to me, no matter how you look," he said, gently turning

her to face him. "I mean it. It's you and me, and that's how it's

always going to be." He gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek, and

pulled her a little closer.

Letting out a contented little sigh, she turned toward him

and smiled. "Do you really mean it, Tenchi?"

"Yes. Have I ever lied to you?"

"Well, no. At least, not that I can recall."

"What do you mean, 'not that I can recall'? I've never

lied to you, and I'll never start either. I'm a lot like Russ when it

comes to lying. I despise it, and there is no reason for it." He

gently squeezed her shoulder. "But enough of this. We're

supposed to be enjoying each other, so can't we leave all our

troubles behind us, just for today?"

"Yeah, you're right, Tenchi. I'm sorry." Wrapping her

arms around him and embracing him tightly, she closed her eyes,

and let out a blissful little sigh. Feeling Tenchi's arms wrap

around her as well, she felt so warm, safe, and contented.

However, her sense of awareness caused several hairs to

stand up on the back of her neck. Also, a shadow had moved

between her and the sun. Opening her eyes quickly, she instantly

focused on an individual standing not two feet away. Gleaming

red eyes stared down at her from under a black cloak, and an evil

smile also presented itself. Two black facial marks could be seen

clear as day on the left side of her face, and she instantly

recognized who it was.

"NAGI!!!!"

Tenchi was thrown back slightly as Ryoko jumped out of

his embrace and took up a defensive stance, her forehead instantly

drenched in perspiration. Her chair was thrown back several feet,

and had almost nailed a young couple that was sitting nearby.

"Hi, Ryoko. Long time, no see."

Tenchi whirled around in his seat and faced Ryoko's most

feared enemy. "What are you doing here!? Leave Ryoko alone!"

"My, my, so protective over our space pirate, aren't we?"

she cackled gleefully. "I had no idea you guys were here, but I

guess my luck decided to bless me today, didn't it?"

Tenchi scrambled up from his seat and stood in front of

Ryoko, his eyes narrowing to catlike slits. He reached under his

robes, tightened his fingers around the master key, and slowly

withdrew it, bringing it into plain view. "Leave us alone. We have

done nothing to you, and you even helped us before. Ryoko has no

bounties on her head, so you have no reason to continue torturing

her like this."

"Tenchi, please get out of the way! You don't have any

idea what you're dealing with!" Ryoko said, close to hysterics.

"Please, just get away from her!"

Nagi's gaze focused on the trembling space pirate behind

Tenchi, and she smiled. "My qualms are with you, not this

pathetic boy."

Tenchi stiffened up slightly. "Why are you still doing

this? I don't understand!"

"Ryoko is the only one to have ever eluded me. She's a

stain on my record. I don't like dirty records, and stains must be

cleaned," Nagi answered simply.

Gripping the sword more tightly, he took in a breath

through clenched teeth. "All you want is to simply kill Ryoko,

because she got away from you?"

"That's right. I have my own personal score to settle with

her."

"Tenchi!! Please! Stop it! Get away from her! You

remember what she did last time!" Ryoko nearly screamed, frozen

with fear. She made no move to get anywhere near Tenchi, even

though her mind screamed at her to.

"I don't care about your own personal vendettas. Go find

someone else's head to cash in, or whatever it is you do. Ryoko

and I have done nothing to you, so leave us in peace!" Tenchi

growled, his voice icy.

"What I don't understand is why you're getting involved,

boy. You better stand aside before you become an unfortunate

casualty," Nagi challenged, moving her cape away from her side

and withdrawing her energy whip. "Prepare yourself, Ryoko."

Without a second thought, Ryoko phased in front of

Tenchi, her orange ki sword blazing with radiant energy. She

quickly shoved Tenchi away from her, but as soon as she did, she

felt a hot sting on her arm that held the sword. With a scream of

surprised pain, the sword vanished and she cradled her fresh

wound.

Nagi's purple whip hummed quietly, as she stood some

ten feet away now. "I see your reflexes are still quite adequate.

This shall be an interesting challenge."

"You leave Tenchi out of this, or I'll be sure and kill you

this time," Ryoko snarled as she reactivated her sword.

"I'm ready when you are, Ryoko."

Before Ryoko had an opportunity to answer, Nagi

attacked.

"Not as good as Sasami's cooking, but still good," Russ

said, patting the little princess next to him.

Misaki laughed. "Don't tell me she does all the cooking

at your place. You're like a garbage disposal or a bottomless pit.

I've never seen anyone eat as much as you do. I'd have to feel

sorry for her."

Russ grinned slightly. "She does a great job, and she

always makes extra. When I'm done eating one of her meals, I'm

full."

"That's hard to believe," Azaka whispered to Kamidake,

who tried to keep from laughing out loud.

"And you three are like peas in a pod," Misaki said,

pointing at the two guardians and then at Russ. "Just what do you

talk about that you guys find so funny anyway?"

"It's a talent," Russ answered with a cocky grin. "But

anyway, I love Sasami's cooking. Most of the time I'm pretty

picky, but she always makes everything so tasty and good that I

can't resist eating everything."

"Garbage disposals aren't picky either and they eat

everything," Kamidake whispered to Azaka, who started

chuckling. Russ shot both of them a look of death, which caused

both of them to begin grinning widely. Aeka giggled quietly

nearby.

"Bah. Everybody is picking on me," Russ pouted.

"Spoiled sport. Can give it but you can't take it, can

you?" Azaka taunted.

"I can kick your butt and take everything you dish out

too," Russ answered, balling up his fist and grinning evilly. "Want

to" he stopped in mid sentence, his expression becoming one of

surprise as he whipped his head to look outside a nearby window,

his eyes focusing on a single point.

"What's wrong Russ?" Misaki said, suddenly concerned.

Without any words, Russ immediately stood up from the

table, used telekinesis to lift about six different prizes of his, and

made his way to the exit. Wondering what the heck was going on,

everybody also got up and followed. He stopped outside the door

on the sidewalk, and continued to stare at the same point.

"What's wrong? What are you looking at?" Aeka said,

pulling on his sleeve.

Russ began quickly walking toward this unknown source,

and he quickly picked up to a jog, and then a run. Everybody

looked on in confusion, and then took off after him, doing their

best to keep up with his brisk pace.

"Russ! Wait up!" Sasami yelled after him, panting and

doing her best to keep up with the group. She sidestepped a

pedestrian and continued running, nearly tripping on a crack in the

cement.

Azaka, seeing the little princesses' plight, scooped her up

and carried her piggyback style. Increasing his own speed, he

quickly caught up with the rest of the group as they struggled to

keep sight of Russ.

Ryo-Ohki changed back into a cabbit, and raced alongside

everybody. Trying to figure out what could possibly be going on,

she unconsciously accessed her telepathic link with Ryoko, and

that instantly told her all that she needed to know. Meowing like

crazy, she ran even faster, doing her best to catch up to Russ.

Running only a few more paces, Russ stopped in the

middle of the street, watching a fight between two individuals. A

few seconds later, the rest of the group caught up to him.

"What the hell is going on here?" Misaki yelled through

her panting. "Who are those people and why are they fighting?"

Noticing Tenchi on the side, terrified recognition smashed

through Aeka's head. "Oh my god, that's got to be Nagi and

Ryoko! We have to stop them!"

"Nagi? Who the hell is Nagi?" Russ growled, watching

the battle unfold.

An orange, stray energy blast zipped toward the group,

causing the girls to scream in surprise, but Russ smacked it into the

air. A storefront exploded from a white energy discharge that

narrowly missed Ryoko, and the shockwave from the blast nearly

knocked everybody over.

"We have to stop them or they'll destroy most of these

shops!" Misaki shouted.

A moment later, Nagi's energy whip caught Ryoko's

ankle as she tried to dodge another blast from her energy rifle, and

she was flung to the ground. Moaning in pain, she sat up and

looked into the hateful eyes of the most feared bounty hunter in the

galaxy.

"Looks like I win this round, Ryoko. Too bad you won't

be around to go once more." She slowly brought her rifle up,

aiming it between Ryoko's eyes. "I win."

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!" Tenchi screamed, sprinting

forward and leaping between the two. Noticing him out of the

corner of her eye, she cracked a very slight grin, and pulled the

trigger. Sizzling, white-hot energy fired from the end of her gun,

its accuracy deadly, and its single target becoming two as Tenchi's

body placed itself between Nagi and Ryoko.

"TENCHI!!!" Ryoko screamed, horror written over every

pore of her face, her mind racing. But it was too late. A small

explosion occurred in front of her and encased the two in a cloud

of smoke.

Nagi smiled evilly, the adrenaline rush of battle and

victory coursing through her every vein. It was finally over. Her

most elusive quarry, Ryoko the Space Pirate, was finally lying

dead at her feet, after so many years of failed attempts. Too bad it

wasn't worth anything valuable. Most people find the taste of

vengeance bittersweet, but she strangely found it to her liking. She

deactivated her energy whip a moment later.

Watching the cloud of smoke slowly start dispersing, she

noticed something odd about it. For some reason, a silhouette of

someone was standing in the middle of the cloud. Her smile

slowly melted away as more of the smoke faded into the air, and

revealed a man standing in front of both Ryoko and Tenchi, with

his arm outstretched, and a look of angry determination on his

visage.

Ryoko slowly re-opened her eyes and focused on her

surroundings, and noticed Tenchi slowly getting up from his

position on the ground.

"Are you okay, Ryoko?" he asked, his voice shaking.

"Yes, but what" she started to say, then stopped. A

spiky haired individual was standing in front of her, directly

between herself and Nagi, dressed in a green karate gi. His arm

was outstretched, but it slowly fell to his side as he slowly stood up

straight. "Russ?"

Ignoring her surprise, he stood fast, not moving a muscle

and glaring at Nagi, who hid her utter astonishment from all the

onlookers.

"Who are you and what do you want with my friends?" he

asked coldly.

The tip of her rifle was still smoking slightly, as she very

slowly lowered it. "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of theirs, and you're in trouble for messing

with them."

"How did he do that? Russ was standing right here just a

moment ago! How did he get over there so fast?" Misaki said in

astonishment. Both guardians had the same exact expression on

their faces too.

"I told you mom, he's one of a kind," Aeka answered.

"Just watch what he does. Ryoko and Tenchi are both safe now."

Nagi cracked a very slight grin, as she looked her new

opponent up and down. Amazingly, he was very good looking and

had an extraordinary build. However, she couldn't figure out how

he appeared where he did, when he did. Nobody could possibly be

fast enough to get in front of a laser beam, so she figured he

must've been hiding nearby or something. It was just too

impossible to believe that this individual is faster than a laser

beam.

"This isn't your fight. Just stand aside and let me finish

what I've started," she replied, hoisting her rifle up and pointing it

at Russ, but aiming for Ryoko.

"I'm afraid it is now my fight. Back off, or you're going

to get hurt. Badly," Russ growled.

"I doubt that." Casually, without even thinking about it,

she pulled the trigger once more on her rifle, and the white laser

beam shot toward Russ. However, to her absolute disbelief, the

laser seemed to bounce off of something and sail into the sky,

where it dissipated.

Russ's hand was smoking slightly and was once again

outstretched in front of him, but didn't have a mark on it. "Your

toys are amusing. Do you want to try again?" he challenged.

Both Ryoko and Tenchi watched him in awe, as they very

slowly backed away from him.

Swallowing a growing lump in her throat, Nagi flipped a

tiny switch on her rifle, enabling automatic mode. Pressing the

trigger and holding it down, her rifle began spewing forth dozens

of lasers. However, the accuracy of the rifle was lowered slightly,

and the beams sprayed a radius of about a foot in diameter at

twenty feet.

But what was happening was unreal. Russ's hand

appeared in front of every laser beam, blocking their attempts to hit

Ryoko and Tenchi and smacking all the lasers into the air.

Releasing the trigger about five seconds later, she no longer hid the

horror from her face, the sweat running down the back of her neck

in miniature rivers.

"Now do you see?" Russ said, his voice stone cold.

Feeling panic, Nagi once again squeezed and held the

trigger to her rifle, firing off the white energy like a madman. But

once again, all the lasers found their mark in Russ's hand, all of

which were sent into the atmosphere, and it didn't harm him in the

least. A moment later, a slight beeping from her weapon could be

heard as it ceased firing.

"Oh shit," she whispered to herself. "Out of energy."

Russ lowered his hand and began slowly walking over to

the bounty hunter, causing her eyes to widen, and her to step back

a pace for every step Russ made toward her.

Reaching under her cape, she pulled out a smaller blaster

she kept hidden there and fired it at Russ's head. An elegant

weapon, very small, but extremely powerful, shot off a small but

potent purple energy ball. It was her own personal desperation

weapon, and it had never failed her. However, again, just as with

the rifle, it failed to do anything to Russ, who put his hand in front

of his face and swatted it into the sky, where it fizzled out a

moment later.

"What the hell are you?" she screamed, activating her

whip and casting it at Russ's neck. Again, just as with the two

guns, the whip found its mark around Russ's wrist. Seizing an

opportunity, she turned the energy of the whip to maximum,

intending to sever off his hand.

Radiant purple energy crackled around the energy beam

and around Russ's wrist, but he just cracked a small, but chilling

grin.

"Are you just about finished?" he asked, allowing his grin

to melt away and be replaced by his poker face as he tightened his

muscles, causing the whip to arc and fizzle out.

Immediately deactivating her energy whip, she backed up

a few paces, and turned to run. Never before had she encountered

someone who could do what he was doing. Sprinting forward

about two steps and then slamming into what felt like a brick wall,

she nearly fell over, but she managed to regain her balance.

Looking at what she ran into in bewilderment, she became even

more frightened when she saw that the wall she ran into was

actually Russ.

"How" she stuttered, as she leapt back about a dozen

feet, her energy whip at the ready.

"You and I are going to have a little talk," Russ said,

slowly approaching her again.

"Get away from me, you freak!" she screamed, turning to

run in the opposite direction. However, once again, she slammed

into another very hard obstacle, and this time she did lose her

balance, and she fell on her backside. Focusing on what she ran

into, she nearly screamed in surprise.

Russ stood not two feet away, his black eyes staring down

into her eyes like orbs of death. Before she could react, he brought

his hand down, placed it around her throat and lifted her to her feet

effortlessly, but he didn't squeeze. She wrapped her hands around

Russ's arm, trying desperately to free herself, but it was like

gripping a piece of steel.

"I'm going to be taking her to another part of the planet.

I'll be back in a little while," Russ called over to Ryoko and

Tenchi, who were now being surrounded by Aeka, Sasami, Ryo-

Ohki, Kamidake, Azaka, and Misaki. The crowd of onlookers was

huge, and all of them looked absolutely astonished. "Oh! Could

you guys take care of all those prizes for me? Thanks," he added,

pointing over to the mass of stuffed animals.

"Don't kill her!" Tenchi shouted, but it was too late. Russ

had placed two fingers to his forehead and vanished from sight

with Nagi, just as Ken-Ohki bounded into view.

"I wouldn't worry too much. I don't think Russ would

kill her. He's probably going to scare the life out of her though,"

Misaki assured Tenchi. "But how did he disappear like that?"

Ken-Ohki immediately recognized Ryo-Ohki, and

bounded over to her. Everybody else stared at the white cabbit,

unsure of what his reaction was going to be.

The two cabbits greeted each other apparently, and then

began talking to each other. About a minute later, Ken-Ohki's

eyes widened, and he backed up a few paces. His fur bristled as

his eyes locked on Ryoko's, and he hissed at her menacingly,

thinking she was to blame. Ryo-Ohki continued to talk to him, and

he calmed down a moment later, but continued to watch the group

in absolute distrust. After another barrage of conversation, he

looked at the group worriedly and sat down, hanging his head and

repeating his discontentment.

"Don't worry, Ken-Ohki. Russ is just going to talk to her,

and hopefully once he's finished, the fight between Ryoko and

your mistress will finally be finished. I'm sure you're looking

forward to that," Sasami said, smiling at him.

Still not trusting them, but having no grounds to disprove

her, he looked at her with sad eyes and, in his own way, asked her

if she'd be all right. Sasami smiled and nodded her head, and it

seemed to relax him a little.

"He'll probably be back in about a half hour, depending

on how fast he can convince her to drop this ridiculous war

between you two," Aeka said, glaring down at Ryoko.

"Hey! I didn't do anything!" Ryoko yelled defensively.

"She just came up on us and attacked the two of us."

"I'm sure she did. Trouble follows you wherever you

go," Aeka snapped.

"It's true, Aeka. Stop this fighting right now," Tenchi

demanded, finally getting to his feet. He glared hard at Aeka, who

immediately quieted down and took on an expression of being

ashamed.

"I hope Russ will be okay," Sasami said, looking at where

Russ was a few moments earlier.

Misaki smiled. "I'd be more worried about Nagi. Russ

can take care of himself."

"Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Well," Misaki began. "Lets go get you two cleaned up.

Both of you are a mess, and need fresh clothes. The rest of you

can continue doing what you were doing. I'll be right back with

these two." She smiled happily, as if nothing had happened. "And

we'll all take Russ's prizes back to his room too."

"It's okay. Ryoko and I can find our own way back to the

palace," Tenchi said, brushing gravel off of his hands. "No need to

trouble yourself on our account."

"Oh, it's not a problem. Come on, let's go," the empress

said, taking both of them by the arm and leading them away, as

they both turned red when they looked at Misaki, and then each

other.

"Those two are hopeless," Sasami giggled.

Calm, peacefulness, and serenity: three things that most

people strive to have in their life, but few actually achieve. Some

find it in blowing away sprites in a video game, others find it in a

meal, and still others find it in a location, whether it is in a fantasy

dreamland, or a real place.

One place that Russ always found greatly appealing was a

beautiful landscape. Up on a mountainside, near a stream,

surrounded by a giant forest, but pushed back far enough to give a

grand view of the land below, is something that he always found

peace and calamity in. Sitting under a tree, with the air

temperature a pleasant seventy-four degrees, having a light breeze

blowing, was enough to lull him to sleep or help him forget about

his troubles. He hoped that this applied for others as well.

Appearing in this exact setting with Nagi, he released her

neck from his iron grip and allowed her to stumble several feet

away, watching her trip and fall over a root. No longer glaring at

her or showing any emotion, he just stood there, watching her,

thinking she resembled a frightened puppy who was taken from its

master.

Nagi, on the other hand, stared at Russ as if he were death

incarnate, just toying with its prey before he took her life and

silenced her forever. She had been in tight situations before, but

nothing quite as radical as this. It was the simplicity in which he

defeated her, not to mention how fast he did it too. This freakish

monster was impossible. How in the universe could someone

spawn such an individual that had such awesome strength and

astounding speed? It went against every law of physics that she

had known about, which unfortunately, were few and far between.

Russ continued to watch her, his curiosity piquing as to

what could be running through her mind. He knew that she knew

she was in trouble and that she had lost, and that she was at his

mercy. He could almost smell the terror from her, but his ability to

sense emotions in others was lit up like a Startica Festival tree, and

it told him exactly what she felt. Her fear was unmistakable, and

almost unsettling. Knowing others that he had battled against had

fear, but none as deep and rooted as this was.

Debating with himself, he figured the best way to proceed

with this talk was to simply not say anything, and let her begin.

Slowly walking over to a tree, his eyes never leaving hers, he sat

down under it and leaned his back against the trunk and relaxed,

letting a very small smile creep onto his lips.

Nagi's fear almost at the breaking point, she calmed down

slightly when he moved away from her, however, never taking his

eyes from hers. She watched him sit down under a beautiful Jurian

tree, which resembled a cherry blossom on Earth, with its rose

colored flowers on the branches and its lush, green leaves.

However, the trunk was white, like a birch tree.

Curiosity was starting to get the better of her as she

watched him relax and rest his back against the trunk of the tree, as

he continued to watch her, but now he was smiling. She knew

running was pointless, as he could easily get in front of her again

as he did before. Attacking him was useless, as she had already

exhausted her supply of weapons. The rifle should be recharging,

she knew, but wasn't enough to make a getaway attempt.

A light breeze ruffled her hair and her cape, and for the

first time she began to take in her surroundings. The forest that

was nearby, the sound of the wind through the leaves, the babbling

of the small stream that was rushing over and around the boulders

that littered the riverbed, and the grand view of the land below

instilled a feeling of peace, albeit very minute. She could feel the

breeze making its way around her cape and around her aching

body, almost as if it were telling her to relax and that there was

nothing to fear. Slowly, very slowly, she allowed it to relax her,

but she never took her eyes off of Russ.

"What is he waiting for? Why is he just sitting there?"

she muttered to herself. It didn't make any sense. A few minutes

ago it looked like he was going to kill her, but now, here he was,

just as happy and contented as could be under his tree. Watching

him intently, she saw him take in a huge breath and let it out

slowly, relaxing himself further.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. "What do you

want with me!? Are you going to kill me or not?!" she yelled,

scrambling up from her fallen position, her body leaving an

imprint in the short grasses.

Her only response was a widening grin from Russ.

"Well?!" she yelled, balling up her fists and preparing for

a fight, the fear in her subsiding a little more, but being replaced by

a need to fight or run away.

Russ slowly closed his eyes and reopened them, his grin

not faltering in the least, and he made no movements.

Lowering her fists, she gave up trying to figure him out.

It made no sense. However, for some reason, she felt compelled to

stay and not walk away. There was just something about him that

made her calm down a little further, and allowed herself to think

more clearly. If he wanted to kill her, he could've done it at any

time, but he didn't.

She folded her arms across her chest and continued to

stare hard at Russ, who continued to grin at her, still in his same,

relaxed position. Surveying the immediate area around him, she

spotted a second tree that was about eight or ten feet away from

him, of the same species. She noted his position, which was turned

only slightly away from that tree, but directly toward her. Almost

at that moment, she realized what he was doing.

"Alright! You win," she growled, very slowly making

her way over to the second tree, very tense and ready to fight if he

attacked her. Russ's grin turned into a warm smile as he folded his

hands across his lap, and watched her.

Nearly a minute later, with her forehead beaded in

stressed perspiration, she reached the tree across from Russ and

slowly sat down, her red eyes burning with hate and fear, but a

slight hint of serenity also presented itself.

Five minutes passed by in silence, as they continued to

watch each other, some unspoken message being sent between the

two. Finally, Nagi broke the silence.

"You could've easily killed me back there. Why didn't

you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"I'm not quite that heartless. Just about everybody

deserves a second chance," Russ responded.

"So you can talk," she snapped, as she watched Russ raise

his hands as if he was being submissive. "Why did you bring me

here?"

"I thought that much was obvious. We're here alone, in

total privacy, where the only thing around us is nature. It can talk,

but can't understand. I want you to tell me why you attacked my

friends. I don't take kindly to strangers doing that. But first,

introduce yourself to me."

Taken aback by his soft, but deep voice, a few more

droplets of sweat ran off of her face and fell onto her lap. Trying

to find an excuse not to answer, she failed to come up with one.

He seemed completely genuine, and had no intention of causing

any more trouble.

"My name is Nagi. I'm a bounty hunter," she replied,

shrugging her shoulders.

Russ became thoughtful for a few moments. "Nagi I

know I've heard that name before. I think Ryoko mentioned you a

couple of times, but she never explained anything about you. I just

know you simply by a name, so you have a chance at a different

first impression with me. I'll ignore the first one you gave me

back in the city, if you can show me you're not like that."

Letting a tiny gasp escape her lips and allowing her eyes

to widen slightly, she immediately banished her surprise behind a

scowl. "What's it to you?"

"You attacked my friends. Why?" he said, getting tired of

beating around the bush, but not leading on to that fact.

"As I told you, I'm a bounty hunter."

"I know that. Does Ryoko have a bounty on her head?"

Again, caught by his gentleness and bluntness, she shook

her head. "No. Not anymore."

"Then why did you attack her today, along with Tenchi?"

"She and I have a long history together. Let's just say

that Ryoko was a cause of great chaos and destruction, and she was

one of the most wanted space pirates in the universe. The price on

her head is what I wanted. However, she was the only prey to ever

escape me. But I've always caught up to her again and again.

Today would've been the last time too if you didn't get in the

way," she growled.

"If I didn't get in the way, not one, but two of my friends

would've been killed, and from what you tell me, without a reason.

It's murder in cold blood," Russ growled, allowing annoyance and

a little anger to creep into his voice. "Why did you shoot at

Tenchi?"

"An unfortunate casualty."

"In other words, you're a ruthless bounty hunter who

stops at nothing to get her quarry?"

Again, caught off guard by his uncanny ability to sum up

a situation in an instant and be so blunt about doing it, she just

stared at him, and didn't make a sound.

Russ shook his head. "This is very unfortunate. What

has Ryoko done to you to make you so bent on killing her? Has

she done something to you in the past?"

"No. She has simply gotten away from me. She is the

only one who has been able to do that, repeatedly. It has almost

become a contest of cat and mouse."

"An interesting way of putting it," Russ answered,

scratching his head. "And what happens when this game ends?"

"Then it ends. I go on my marry way and forget that I

ever met her," she responded coldly.

"Why not end it now, and walk away?"

Nagi stared at him with her mouth hanging open, as if she

had never considered that possibility before. "I can't."

"Why? Because of some personal vendetta?"

"I wouldn't put it so crudely, but yes."

"Then how would you put it?" Russ asked, placing his

hands behind his head and crossing his legs.

"I already explained it to Tenchi. She's a stain on my

record. The one and only blemish that keeps me from being the

most feared bounty hunter in the known universe"

"And once you kill her, you'll attain that status?" Russ

finished for her. "Sickening."

"And who are you to judge me?" she spat.

"Who are you to kill an innocent?" Russ countered.

She silenced herself and realized what he was starting to

get at. Shaking that feeling, she reasserted herself. "You can't

make an omelet without breaking some eggs," she growled.

"How clich," came Russ's response. "Explain it in more

detail."

"Tenchi would've been an unfortunate casualty, but that's

what happens when you hunt a big mouse like Ryoko."

Russ looked out over the mountainside at the land below,

the greenery of it all. The planet looked like it was untouched by

industry. Looking back at her, he shook his head. "Look at this

place, Nagi. How do you feel?"

Her eyes went wide with utter surprise, and she held her

breath for a few moments, and then released it slowly. She looked

out where Russ had a moment ago, and took in the peacefulness of

it. It was such a contrast to sitting onboard Ken-Ohki for months,

or sitting in dirty slum houses or bars waiting for quarry.

Becoming almost used to hellish conditions, she barely recognized

her surroundings anymore, since they did nothing to help her

moods.

However, this place was different. It was quiet, unlike the

spaceports and bars. It was bright, unlike the darkness of space

onboard Ken-Ohki. There were hundreds of thousands of colors,

unlike the blackness of space. And it was warm, unlike the

coldness of space.

"Have you ever been to a place like this before and stayed

to enjoy it, Nagi?"

Startled out of her broadening daydream, she looked at

him with angry eyes, but Russ could see the sadness behind it. She

turned her face away and said nothing.

"How long has it been since you've been to a place like

this, where you could forget all your troubles?"

Nagi shook her head. "Where are you going with this?"

"I want to know why you have such a hateful demeanor to

you. You're so cold and almost heartless, but I can see a little

humanity left in you. I want to see that side of you, to put it

simply."

"I'm just as human as you are," she snapped. "Why don't

you tell me a little bit about you now?"

Raising an eyebrow slightly, then taking a deep breath, he

let it out in a huge sigh. "My name is Russ, as you have no doubt

heard. I'm from a race of people known as Saiyans, or Saiya-jin.

I'm a warrior. Nothing more."

"'Nothing more' he says. There's got to be more to it

than that. How did you fall in with Ryoko and her family?" she

asked, her eyes widening when she realized what she said.

Ryoko's family

"I'm there to protect them and the Earth, against a foe that

is almost exactly like me," Russ answered, watching her.

"What?" She looked at him in disbelief. "Another one of

you is running around?"

"Kind of. Except his ambitions is a stark contrast to my

own. But yes, he's just as strong and as powerful as I am."

"That's not possible," she said, glaring at him. "I can't

believe it. I won't believe it."

"That's entirely up to you, but to be blunt, what I was

doing with you was absolutely nothing in comparison to what I'm

capable of. If you think Azaka and Kamidake are ones not to be

trifled with, I kicked their butts along with Misaki's yesterday in

the sparring room. Three on one, with me under intense gravity."

Russ smiled, remembering the sparring match from the previous

day.

Nagi shook her head as she stared at him. "How?"

"Do you have something that can detect a ki level?"

Nodding, Nagi produced a small device that vaguely

resembled a scouter, and placed the unit over her head, allowing

the small blue lens to cover her right eye.

Sitting quietly under the tree, Russ watched her fiddle

with the device, and set it up to fit her head. Glancing at him

through the small window, she slowly raised her hand and tapped

the button to turn the machine on. He watched Nagi's expression

as her scouter locked onto his body and began to calculate a level.

The scouter short-circuited and exploded, causing her to

flinch in utter horror. Russ immediately got up from his sitting

position, crossed the distance between them in less than an instant

and quickly knelt down near her, looking at her head and her face

to make sure she was uninjured.

"Are you okay?"

Nagi just stared at him in terror, her eyes wide and her

mouth agape.

"Talk about your cheap construction," Russ said, smiling.

"I wasn't even powered up. Listen, I'm not here to hurt or harm

you right now. Just relax and let's talk, okay?"

Swallowing a huge lump in her throat, she almost

couldn't think straight, but somehow, she managed a hoarse,

"Okay."

Russ grinned and sat down next to her, Indian style, and

placed his hands in his lap, making sure to keep a warm smile on

his face. "Where shall we begin?"

For the next three hours, both Russ and Nagi talked with

each other, sharing thoughts and feelings between each other, but

neither going very deep, until Nagi began talking on her own. The

more she talked, the more she revealed, and Russ listened to it all,

showing genuine interest. Finally, even though she didn't know

why, she found herself revealing more and more about her past,

and as a result, found it easier and easier to talk to him. She

touched on topics of her early childhood, why she became a bounty

hunter, her vendetta with Ryoko, murders and kills that she had

done that affected her in ways that only she could describe, her

parents and what was left of her family, and many other dark

secrets that she swore she'd keep locked away forever, but found

that they burst forth, like an uncontrolled avalanche that couldn't

be stopped. Several times she found herself babbling like a small

child, tears on the edges of her eyes, but never falling. However,

she totally failed to figure out why she told this stranger, who just

hours earlier was going to kill her, all that she did.

Russ sat and listened to it all. He never had to add

anything to the conversation, but just listen, and allowed her to

pour her heart out uninterrupted. He listened to stories that he

could relate to, and others that he only fantasized about. He could

see why her heart was locked away, and why she had the front that

she did, but he never challenged it. They continued to converse for

another hour or two, or so they thought. They both lost track of

time.

Finally, she looked at him with sad eyes and shook her

head. "I'm sorry."

Russ shook his head. "Don't be."

"You aren't going to tell anyone about any of this, are

you?" she asked, resembling a child who just told a secret that she

wasn't supposed to.

"The only people who will ever know about this is you,

me, and these trees," Russ said, gesturing to the landscape once

more.

Hanging her head, she sniffled once more. "Thank you."

Russ smiled. "It's okay. Are you still going to try to kill

Ryoko? I have to know."

Nagi looked at him, and he stared back at her with sad

eyes, and her heart almost broke in two. Summoning up all her

courage, her feelings, and her pride, she answered him. "No."

"Thank you," he whispered.

Looking up at him and his warm smile, she felt like a new

person. "It's okay."

"I can understand why you'd still be a bounty hunter. I'm

just glad you're going to stop hunting innocents now and stop

holding a grudge," Russ said, slowly getting to his feet. The grass

where he was sitting was completely flat.

Nagi let out a small laugh, as she watched him return to

his feet. And when Russ offered her his hand to help her up, she

accepted it graciously. "I take it we're going back there now?"

"Yeah, unless you'd like to stay a little longer."

"It's okay. I think I've said enough for one day."

Russ grinned. "Hold on tight to my hand."

Nagi smiled as she watched him place two fingers to his

forehead, and watched the landscape fade from view.

"Oh Mother, you haven't changed a bit," Yosho

complained, dressed in the fourteenth set of robes Funaho picked

out for him. "I've tried on enough clothes for one day. This is the

fourth store that we've spent over two hours in!"

Glaring at her son, she placed the previous pair of robes

light blue with gold trim into a growing pile of other garments

for her son to wear while he was on Jurai. "All you dress in is that

white robe. It's time you get something new."

Nobuyuki was also dressed in an odd set of robes olive

color with white trim as he stood next to his own growing

mountain of attire.

"Come on, mom. It's getting late. The sun has already

started to set," he complained again, gesturing to the window

which had bright yellow sunlight filtering in, the sun low in the

sky.

"We're almost done, so quit your whining. You didn't

like the way I redid the great hall, so the least you can do is let me

dress you in something nice," she snapped, feeling like Yosho was

a small child once again.

"You're embarrassing me!" he hissed, the redness

flushing his cheeks. "You look like you're dressing your

grandfather or something."

Funaho gave him a look that would've stopped a freight

train in its tracks, and he immediately looked down at his feet.

Sighing, she glared at him. "You never come to visit me, you

never write, you never call. It's almost like I don't have a son to

speak of!"

Yosho looked taken aback by her statement, and he hung

his head in shame.

Nobuyuki looked at his father in surprise, and shook his

own head. "You should talk to your mother more often. You do

realize that she's not going to be around forever. You should

appreciate your parents," he said, sounding almost as philosophical

as Yosho typically does. "I'm fortunate to be able to see you every

day. It's too bad I can't see mom anymore though."

Funaho nodded her head in agreement. "At least my

grandson has more sense than some thick-headed boy I have," she

said, causing Yosho to fret with his new robes. "Let's pay for this

stuff and get back to the palace to eat, and then we'll have the

fireworks show to see."

"Why don't you ask Washu to help you out with talking

to your mom more often, Dad? I'm sure she can help you."

Yosho shot his son a withering glare, making sure that his

mother didn't see it. He gestured with his hand that he'd have the

thrashing of his life if he kept it up. However, Nobuyuki grinned

even wider, as he hefted all of his new clothes into a waiting

shopping cart, and helped Funaho with Yosho's garments.

"Dad seems to be embarrassed, Grandma," Nobuyuki

began, standing next to the empress. "Why do you suppose that

is?"

Catching his drift, she smiled casually. "He's always

been like this. I should tell you about some of the things he did

while he was a little boy."

Yosho stared at her in horror, a massive bead of sweat

appearing on his head. He dropped down to both knees in front of

Funaho, clasping both of his hands in front of him.

"I'm begging you mom. Please don't," Yosho said,

sounding desperate.

Nobuyuki looked at this in great amusement and smiled

widely. "Wow. He must've done some crazy stuff for him to do

that now, right?" he asked, turning toward his grandmother.

"You have NO idea," she answered, watching her son,

who looked like someone who was about to be marched off to

death and was pleading for his life. "Come on, and I'll tell you

about some of it on the way home," Funaho invited.

Yosho facefaulted and slowly got back to his feet,

watching the retreating forms of his mother and his traitorous son.

"I'm doomed."

"Where is Russ?" Aeka said for the tenth time within the

last two hours, on her way back to the palace with her group of

Azaka, Kamidake, Misaki, Tenchi, Ryoko, Ryo-Ohki, Ken-Ohki

and Sasami. "He's been gone the whole day. I'm really worried

about him. What if something happened and he's out there with

Nagi?"

"Don't worry! Russ will be okay. Just relax, Aeka!"

Sasami said, annoyed. She reached over and took Aeka's arm,

giving it a warm squeeze. "He can take care of himself, although it

is sweet that you're so worried about him," she added, and then

giggled.

Giving an exasperated sigh, she looked at her mother for

reassurance. "Mom?"

"Aeka! Enough already. He'll come back when he's

ready, okay? You're going to get wrinkles from worrying so

much."

Ryoko nearly exploded laughing because she had told

Aeka the same thing when they ran out of food on the Yagami, and

she had to go get more. Instead, she turned a bright shade of pink

and tried her best not to laugh out loud. Tenchi noticed Ryoko's

glee, and he shot her a withering glare that silenced her

immediately and made her hang her head in shame. Feeling a little

guilty, he put her arm around her and held her close, as he kept

pace behind the princesses. He then whispered a small apology to

Ryoko, who smiled in return.

"Well, it's getting late. We'll have dinner and then we'll

watch the fireworks. After that, we'll do the gift giving part of the

festival between all of us, and then we should all go to bed, so

we'll be rested for the last day of the festival," Misaki directed,

turning her head to look at everybody and to see if they approved

or not.

"Sounds good to me. How come this only lasts two

days?" Tenchi asked.

Misaki looked him a little funny, and shrugged her

shoulders. "It's tradition. How long do your holidays last?"

"Well, there are various ones on Earth that last varying

periods of time. Hanukah lasts seven days and Christmas is only

one day. Come to think of it, nearly all our holidays are just for

one day," Tenchi explained.

"Well, here, Startica is for two days. Everybody comes

home at this time and celebrates it with their families. Everybody

is in high spirits, gifts are exchanged, and families are reunited at

least once a year. It's the best holiday on the planet. People from

all around the galaxy come to join us in celebrating it too.

"It sounds a lot like Christmas back at home. As a matter

of fact, we decorate trees like you guys have for Startica, and we

exchange gifts and presents. However, not everybody has the

privilege of coming home on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

It's really unfortunate, and can also create a lot of depression."

"That's terrible! Everybody should be able to get

together for the holidays!" Misaki said angrily, glaring at Tenchi.

"I know. But most humans don't see it that way. Some

still have jobs to do and have to work on Christmas Day."

Misaki sighed in disgust. "I guess I still don't understand

you humans."

Tenchi chuckled. "Most don't. Half the time, humans

don't understand humans!"

Aeka continued to walk beside everybody in silence,

trailed by the two guardians who continually looked at each other,

and then at Aeka. It didn't take long before the put two and two

together and realized that she was attracted to Russ.

"Excuse me, your highness?" Azaka began.

The three members of the Royal family turned and looked

at him, wondering which one he was referring to.

"Um, Princess Aeka?"

Misaki and Sasami both looked at Aeka, and smiled. She

slowed down her step, allowing Azaka and Kamidake to catch up

to her, and she kept pace between the two guardians.

"Did you want something, Azaka?"

"Forgive me for prying, but why are you so worried about

Russ? You saw what he did to Kamidake and myself yesterday."

Aeka sighed and looked down at the ground. "I don't

know why, but I feel so so something when he's not around."

She laughed and looked at both the knights. "I know it sounds

funny, but I'm almost getting used to having him around. I get

worried when he disappears for long periods of time."

Kamidake grinned. "I wouldn't worry about him. He's

one of a kind."

"I agree with you completely on that one," she said,

smiling at the red knight.

"Yeah. I've never seen anybody eat so much in my life,"

Azaka said, trying to keep from laughing out loud.

All three of them smiled and chuckled quietly, as they

rounded a corner and began their approach to the palace.

"You like him, don't you, Aeka?" Azaka said, after

overcoming a fit of the giggles.

Aeka seemed to be caught off guard by the directness of

his question, but she shrugged her shoulders. "I like him as a great

friend right now. The thing is, I'd like well, to progress it a little

further. The problem is, he doesn't, and has told me he doesn't

want to. I want to change his mind, but I don't know how."

"Hmmm how do you know? Maybe he likes you and

doesn't want to say it."

Smiling up at the blue guardian, she sighed dreamily.

"You really think that could be the case?"

"I think so. Whenever you enter a room, or look at him,

he smiles. I know for a fact that he likes you," Azaka said with

authority. "He'd be crazy if he didn't."

"I think he's crazy," Kamidake said, causing a surprised

stare from both individuals. "I think he just feels that you're good

friends right now. He may not be ready for a relationship. You

could tell us about what went on between you two since you've

met. I'd hate to draw conclusions on incomplete data."

"It's a long story. But to put it in a nutshell, he told me

on the first day we met that he wasn't interested in any kind of

relationship. After some circumstances, he then told me that

he'd think about it after the battle with his nemesis, Zorpheus. He

predicted that would take one year."

"I see. Has he ever been involved before?"

"I don't know. He told me that he hasn't, and from the

reactions I saw from Tom, I think he's being honest. I don't

understand why anybody wouldn't want to have someone with

them for the rest of their lives. It would be so lonely to be by

yourself all the time. I'm sure Ryoko could testify to that notion,"

she added, getting a nod from the space pirate.

"That's probably what he's used to," Kamidake said.

"Did he say how long he's been alone?"

Aeka thought a moment. "He did say that he was alone

for his entire life. Hardly any friends, and he spends a lot of time

by himself training. At least, I think that's what he said," she

replied, placing her finger against her cheek, trying to remember if

she forgot any details.

"Then he's probably not ready to have someone in his

life. But, if he's living with you now, he may just come around

and realize what he's missing. He'd find a great woman in you,

Aeka."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Kamidake," she said,

giving him a wink and a warm smile. "But thanks for the

sentiment."

They all reached the palace steps and began to make their

way inside. Aeka looked off into the garden, the only place

untouched by the festival. Out of nowhere, Russ and Nagi both

appeared in the middle of it, in the blink of an eye. After a quick

double take, she stopped in her tracks, almost causing Ryoko to

run into her back.

"Hey, watch it, your royal low-ness. What's wrong with

you?" Ryoko asked, irritated, but then noticed the direction Aeka

was looking off into. She turned to look, and saw exactly what she

was staring at. Fear flooded Ryoko's face as she gripped Tenchi's

hand and let out a quick gasp.

"What's wrong, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked, feeling her grip

tighten on his hand. He turned and looked off into the direction

she was gazing in, and saw both Russ and Nagi, facing each other.

They were too far off to see their expressions, but they both

seemed to be okay.

"It's Russ" Aeka said, trailing off in mid-sentence.

The entire entourage stopped and stared, and watched

both individuals in the middle of the garden. After what seemed

like a minute, both Russ and Nagi turned toward the palace and

began to make their way over. Aeka's excitement got the better of

her as she quickly made her way down the steps and into the

garden, making a brisk pace down the walkway. Ken-Ohki saw

his master, and he shot off like he was fired from a rifle, racing

directly for Nagi, raising a ruckus with his strange version of a

meow with Ryo-Ohki calling after him.

About five feet away from both individuals, he stopped in

his tracks and looked at both of them. Both Nagi and Russ smiled

at him and stood still, but Ken-Ohki glared hard at Russ, hissing

and bristling his fur.

"I guess I can't blame him for being pissed at me," Russ

said, shrugging his shoulders and eyeing the white cabbit. "Is he

going to bite me or something?"

"Ken-Ohki, that's enough. I'm fine," she told the cabbit,

and he calmed down instantly, but watched Russ with distrust.

"Anyway," she said, turning toward Russ. "I really appreciate you

listening to everything I had to say. I have never had a confession

before. It felt good, and I want to thank you for it."

Russ waved his hand and smiled. "And thank you for

giving up the chase on Ryoko. I really appreciate that. Also, if

you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be with Tenchi's family for

the year. Just let me know a date and time, and I'll meet you

anywhere you please."

They both looked at each other and nodded their heads,

smiled, and then Nagi turned away from him and made her way

across the field, never looking back, with Ken-Ohki at her side. It

wasn't long before Aeka and company caught up to him.

"You big jerk!" Aeka yelled, getting in his face. "How

dare you leave for so long and making me worry like this!" She

raised her hand and went to slap Russ across the face.

Russ saw it coming and he ducked, letting her hand sail

harmlessly over his head. However, when he stood back up, he

gave Aeka a glare that could've curdled milk. "Since WHEN do I

answer to YOU?" he snarled, startling Aeka out of her rampage.

"Don't you EVER make a move to hit me out of anger."

Aeka's jaw dropped, and she was caught speechless.

Russ just made a frown and walked past her, making his way to the

palace just as everybody else caught up to him, as she continued to

stare at him in shock, her eyes wide and mouth agape, and she

looked like she just saw a ghost.

"What are you doing, Aeka?!" Misaki yelled. "Why did

you try to hit him?"

"I I don't know," she stuttered, looking at her hand and

the retreating form of Russ. He walked slowly, his arms dangling

at his sides with his hands balled up into fists. Looking at the

ground in front of him, he hung his head as he walked. "I just

reacted out of impulse."

Misaki grabbed her daughter in a hug. "I told you, there

is no need to worry about him now. At the moment, he doesn't

answer to anybody, and you have to accept that. He is who he is."

Aeka almost looked as if she was going to cry. "I just

made a big mistake, didn't I, mommy?"

Gripping her daughter more tightly, she shook her head.

"No. You were worried about him. In time, he'll come to realize

that."

"But but" she started to say. She hesitated, and

sniffled.

"It's okay, Aeka. Let's go back to the palace and eat

now. I'm starving," Misaki said cheerily, hoping to make Aeka

forget about the tirade that just happened.

Everybody else just stood by quietly and didn't say a

word. They all turned to follow the two as they made their way

down the path and followed Russ, keeping their distance, and

wondering what could be running through his mind.

Dinner passed by in relative silence. Every time Aeka

looked over at Russ, he was looking straight ahead and didn't say

anything to anybody, even to the guardians who tried to start a

friendly conversation with him. He ate his dinner at warp speed,

and then sat in silence, waiting for everybody else to finish.

Misaki glared at him for being so stubborn, but she reminded

herself of what she told Aeka earlier, and that he'd come around

eventually. She debated with herself on having another talk with

him or not. Eventually, she reached the conclusion that saying

nothing was the best way to proceed. Kids will be kids, and

despite all the advice she'd have, she figured that they'd learn

better on their own. They would have to get used to each other if it

were ever going to work.

Finally, desert was brought out delicious cheesecake,

made from only the finest ingredients on Jurai, topped with Jurian

cherries. Everybody dug into the desert with gusto, but once again,

Russ finished his in a matter of seconds. Except this time, instead

of waiting for other courses or everybody else to finish, he got up

and marched himself out the door. Everybody stopped at stared at

his retreating form, and silence ensued after that. Nobody said a

word to stop him, and the only noise in the hall was the sound of

the door closing behind him.

Aeka looked over at her mother. "Mommy?"

"Shhh," she said quietly, and shook her head. "Just leave

him be. He's probably very embarrassed at how he acted out there.

Leave him alone for now. He has to think."

"But, where is he going?"

"Who knows? That's not important right now. He needs

a little time to reflect. If he isn't around by the time the fireworks

are supposed to start, then you can go find him," Misaki said,

smiling. "I'm sure he'll join us for that."

"Yeah, Aeka. He'll be around for that for sure!" Sasami

said, smiling sweetly. "I just know he will!"

The princess smiled slightly and nodded her head. "I

guess you're right."

Asuza glared hard at the door, and if looks could kill,

Russ would've been dead ten times over. He cleared his throat and

continued eating his desert as if nothing had happened. Everybody

else at the table did their best to appear uninterested, and they

continued eating their food.

Entering the Royal Theater, Russ made his way down the

hundreds of rows of chairs to the base of the stage, where he leapt

on top of the polished wood with a heavy thud.

"DAMMIT!" he roared, stomping his foot. "Why do

women have to be so friggin difficult!"

Looking around for something to mess with, he noticed

the portable holo-projector that Tom said they'd use to create

instruments and other important materials for that concert they

were supposed to have. Carefully moving it to the middle of the

stage, he hit a few buttons to turn the machine on, keyed a few

more commands, and his huge organ appeared to the leftmost side

of the stage.

"Man, I really blew it out there. I have to control my

temper if I'm going to be around these people. I just wish Aeka

didn't have the hots for me!" he muttered to nobody in particular,

walking over to the bench and sitting down, adjusting his gi for a

better fit. He let out a sigh and relaxed slightly, tilting his head all

the way back, looking at the ceiling. He swung his feet back and

forth under the bench, and silently abused himself for being so

hotheaded out there.

Sitting forward again, he looked at the gleaming white

keys of the massive instrument and thought of several songs that

would calm him down. Tapping a few keys on the computer

console, he brought up the rhythm and most of the background

music for Armitage III Silent War, and began to play. He

cranked the volume of the organ to near maximum, which was

loud enough to vibrate the floor and feel it slightly in his gut, but

not quite deafening enough to hurt his ears.

Playing for several minutes, he could feel himself calming

down, as he moved his hands in the same pattern over and over

again, as more and more instruments joined in the piece. Having

the massive hall to himself, the surround sound from the extra

instruments echoed behind him, and he smiled. The drumbeat

kicked in near the end of the song, which was powerful enough to

feel in every bone in his body, and he felt so alive again as if he

finished a massive battle against a powerful foe. Continuing for

another minute or two, the song slowly faded its way out, and he

once again sat in silence.

"Music soothes the savage beast," Russ chuckled.

Deciding to pass more time away, he played the main

theme to Armitage III. However, after doing this song, he felt the

need to play something that had vocals in it, and he also gathered

an urge to play the drums. Moving over to the holoprojector, he

keyed some additional commands, and the organ vanished, but was

replaced with a huge variety of instruments. A drum set sat near

the middle of the stage up on a platform, several guitars were off to

the right next to three microphones. Still more instruments

presented themselves onstage, all ready to be played. Russ

grinned, and thought a few moments, then decided to play a few

tunes that starred Megumi Hayashibara.

In an instant, an entire cast of musicians appeared,

holding their instruments of choice, and an image of Lime from

Saber Marionette J stood in front of the main microphone. She

turned and looked at Russ, who smiled and gave her a thumb up.

She did the same and waited for him to make his way to the drum

set and sit down.

Cracking the two drumsticks together to start the rhythm,

the band began to play Hesitation Remix. Beating the drums in

perfect rhythm, the band stayed synchronized with him, as Lime

sang the song. Russ couldn't help but smile, and he felt as good as

new.

After that song was finished, he continued on to play

Izayoi, Proof to Myself Remix, the original Hesitation, and Lively

Emotion. After that, he switched albums and began to play songs

from The Slayers series. He swapped Lina Inverse in place of

Lime, and he chuckled to himself, thinking that Lina had more

hardware on her than Tom's Star Destroyer. Songs from The

Slayers included Breeze, Give a Reason, Get Along, Naked Mind,

Gloria, In This Arm, and even Unlimited Desire.

Once he finished with all the anime tracks, he moved over

to the projector and called up three more songs that he wanted to

do. All three were from a band called Linkin Park, and the three

songs he brought up were Papercut, In the End, and Pushing Me

Away. Moving back to the drum set, he fit a microphone over his

head and began the first song, singing the main lyrics of the piece

while pounding on the drums.

After about an hour and a half of solid playing, and

having his forehead drenched in perspiration from whacking the

drums for so long, he turned off the projector and sat down on the

stage, took several deep breaths, and tried to decide what would be

the best way to approach Aeka and her family again. He felt that

he acted like a complete moron. If only Aeka didn't take a swing

at him.

He knew that Aeka cared for him, even though he felt that

he didn't reciprocate it. She must really care deeply for him to pull

a stunt like she did out there.

"She may have been worried, but did she have to try to

slap me for it?" Russ asked aloud, hearing his voice reverberate

around the hall while he continued to stare at the floor in front of

him.

"She cares about you, that's why."

Russ's eyes became extremely large as his head snapped

up and looked directly into the pink eyes of Sasami. Caught

completely by surprise, he yelped and fell off the stage, landing on

his backside on the floor.

Sasami didn't smile, giggle, or give any indication that

she found the event funny.

"When the he When did you get here?" Russ asked,

pulling himself up.

Sasami just looked at him, folding her arms over her

chest. "I've been sitting outside the hall doors the entire time

you've been playing. I was waiting for you to finish before I came

in and interrupted you. I wanted to hear the music, but didn't want

to disturb you."

"I wouldn't have minded you coming in, Sasami. You

know that," Russ said, looking mildly confused.

"But you would've minded my sister, right? Please tell

me you're not going to fight with her."

Russ closed his eyes a moment and reopened them,

watching the little princess and wondering how to worm his way

out of a potential trap. "I'm not going to fight with her. I hate

fighting with people. I just wish things had gone a little differently

out there is all."

"You left us for the entire day! You were supposed to

spend the whole day with us, and we were going to play a whole

bunch of games and stuff, but you vanished with Nagi! What were

we supposed to think?" she yelled, clearly upset.

"I'm sorry Sasami, but there were other circumstances

that needed my attention. You're too little to understand it."

"I am NOT too little! You were going to spend the whole

day with us, and you were looking forward to it. And now the day

is over!"

Russ sighed as his heart began to ache. "There is always

tomorrow."

"But what about what happened today!? You didn't think

about how we'd feel after you left, did you?"

Feeling his blood start to boil, he took in a breath through

his nose, and let it out through his mouth, slowly. "Please stop

rubbing it in. I'm getting upset over this again. All that I can do is

say that I'm sorry."

"Don't say it to me," she said, looking at him angrily.

"You know who you need to say it to."

"I know that!" Russ shouted, sliding off the stage once

more, but landing on his feet. Sasami's gaze didn't falter, and she

showed no fear. "I just need" he said, but trailed off and looked

toward the doors, which were closing behind Aeka, who just

entered the hall. Squeezing his eyes shut, he turned away from

both princesses.

Silence ensued as Aeka made her way down to the stage

floor, and stood next to her sister. They both looked at Russ, who

slowly turned around and faced both girls, his expression unhappy,

and then he looked at the floor.

"And how long were you out there?" Russ asked, his

voice quiet. "Did you hear everything too?"

"Yes." Aeka slowly approached Russ again, and stood

directly in front of him, her hands folded in front of her. Russ

didn't meet her gaze, but continued to look at the floor in front of

him. "It's okay. I shouldn't have tried to slap you."

Russ shook his head. "It's my fault. If I had come back

sooner, you wouldn't have been as upset."

"But you had some things to discuss with Nagi, right?"

"Yeah, but still. I should've realized that I was making

you so concerned about me. I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay. We both made mistakes today, Russ," Aeka

said, looking at Russ's boots. "I don't think I'll make the same

one again."

"Me neither," Russ answered, shuffling his foot.

"Can we start over?" Aeka invited, reaching out and

grasping Russ's hand. His hand was so strong and warm, but felt

very relaxed. It was amazing that a hand so strong could still be so

gentle.

Russ sighed. "I'm sorry," he said again, and he didn't

pull away. "I'm so violent to be around. Why did you have to

become attracted to me?"

Aeka squeezed his hand tighter. "Because you have all

the qualities I look for, and am attracted to. Plus, you don't treat

me like royalty, but as a normal, everyday person. I like being

treated as a person rather than a figurehead. You're the only

person besides Tenchi to have done that."

"I see."

Aeka smiled, as she reached up with her other hand and

raised Russ's face, so she could finally see him, and him to her.

"Would you please join me for the fireworks? That would make

me and Sasami very happy."

"I think I can manage that," Russ answered, doing his best

to smile, but failing. He still felt bad over what he did, and he

continued to silently beat himself up over it.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're only human, after

all," Aeka said, taking him by the arm and leading him out of the

auditorium.

Sasami watched the two, and she felt very contented and

happy. Following behind them, she kept quiet and simply listened

to the two talk to each other. However, Russ continually

apologized for his outburst, and Sasami found that to be one of the

sweetest things that anybody could've done. Even Tenchi didn't

do what he did.

Some fifteen minutes later, Washu, Kiyone, Mihoshi,

Funaho, Yosho, Nobuyuki, Azaka, Kamidake, Asuza, Misaki,

Aeka, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki, and Russ, approached the apex of a

small hill in the Royal Garden. On top of the hill was a large

gazebo, complete with thrones and other chairs. The hill itself was

nearly twenty feet high, and the steepness of the hill was not very

bad. Steps ran all the way to the building, and made climbing

easy. Asuza, Misaki, and Funaho took their seats, and everybody

else, except for Russ, Aeka, and Sasami, sat in the available chairs.

Russ elected to climb down the hill slightly, and lie back onto the

soft grasses, and just relax. Of course, Aeka and Sasami did the

same.

It was dark and starting to get hard to see, as the time

wound down to what was supposed to be the beginning of the

fireworks, however, nothing was happening. Minutes passed by,

and still no fireworks. Russ could faintly hear a chorus of boo's

emanating from various crowds around the palace, and a light

amount of chatter coming from the gazebo above him.

"What's going on? How come there aren't any

fireworks? Aren't they supposed to start now?" Russ asked,

continuing to gaze into the darkening sky.

"They should've started about five minutes ago. I think

there is something wrong," Aeka replied, looking concerned. "I

hope they don't have to cancel."

Russ scratched his head and grinned slightly. "We won't

need to cancel."

Aeka and Sasami both looked at him in confusion. "What

do you mean?" Sasami asked, watching Russ's grinning

expression.

Without another word, Russ raised his arm, pointed it at

the sky, and an instant later a small white ball of ki fired from his

palm and raced to the stars, where it flashed and disappeared. A

second later, a massive boom resonated around the land, as an

uproar of cheers exploded from the nearby groups.

"Wow! I didn't know you could do that with ki!" Sasami

exclaimed in excitement. "Can you do others?"

"Sure can. You name it, and I can probably make it.

Watch this," Russ said, firing another small ki ball from his hand.

It raced into the sky and exploded in a gorgeous pattern of greens,

reds, and yellows, all circling around each other in a geometric

flower. A moment later, a thunderous boom resonated around the

buildings, rattling windows and causing another uproar of

cheering.

"That's fantastic. And no smoke either," Aeka

whispered, watching the spectacle fade out and vanish into

oblivion. "Can you do a Cherry Blossom flower?"

Russ grinned as he fired another blast into the sky. The

ball exploded into a fantastic sight, as it produced a perfect version

of the flower, along with a green stem and green leaves.

A round of applause greeted his ears from the onlookers

in the gazebo, and he smiled to himself has he fired off several

more blasts, each detonating in various patterns in dazzling arrays

of colors.

"How long is this supposed to go for?" Russ inquired,

firing off another salvo of ki balls.

"About forty five minutes to an hour. But if you get tired

out before then, you can stop at any time," Aeka told him.

"No problem. Sit back, and enjoy the show," Russ

declared, firing off another five balls into the upper atmosphere

and watching them detonate in wonderful and different colors and

patterns.

He continued to wow and dazzle all the onlookers, as he

finally realized it was time to wrap up the show. Raising his other

hand and bracing himself, he began firing off hundreds of ki balls,

all of them exploding like popcorn and producing incredible

displays of design, geometry, and color. Aeka watched him as he

continued to shoot his energy into the atmosphere like a machine

gun, and she felt so contented to be next to him, as she watched

him in the varying colors of his fireworks. He continued this for

another five minutes, and then fired off one last massive ball into

the upper atmosphere, where it exploded into an incredible design,

which read, "That's all, Folks!" and shook the ground with its

explosion.

Loud cheering from miles around could be heard, as well

as a roar of appreciation from the gazebo. Even Asuza was

applauding the performance, since he was one to enjoy fireworks

and was very happy that he wasn't disappointed this year.

Taking a deep breath, Russ lowered his hands to his sides

and smiled contentedly. "Did you enjoy the show you guys?" he

asked, looking at Sasami, and then Aeka.

"That was great!" Sasami squealed. "Thank you so much

for doing that for everybody. We've never seen anything like it

before."

"That's right, Sasami. This was a real treat for us, Russ.

Thank you," Aeka said, rubbing his arm. "Are you tired out?"

Russ yawned. "I'm not fatigued, but I'm getting sleepy,"

he said, rubbing his eyes. "Is there anything else we have to do?"

"Just one more thing. Gift exchanging!" Sasami said

gleefully. "I can't wait to see what I get this year."

Russ looked at both of them in horror, and then hung his

head. "Oh no. I had no idea you guys exchanged gifts at this

time!" he fretted. "What am I going to do now?"

Aeka giggled. "Don't worry about it. You don't have to

give anything. Just come with us back to the palace and keep us

company."

Everybody in the gazebo was already making his or her

way down the steps. Russ, Aeka, and Sasami all got to their feet

and followed behind the main group. "But I don't have anything

to give! I'm going to feel weird not giving anything."

"I told you not to worry about it," Aeka giggled. "Just

relax."

Russ sighed. "I know. I'll make it up to you at Christmas

time. Will that be okay?"

"Absolutely," Sasami said, hanging on Russ's right arm.

"I can't wait to see what you get me."

"I've got some planning to do, in that case," Russ said, his

face determined. "I'll make sure you guys have the best Christmas

ever!"

"Christmas isn't for another six months!" Aeka

exclaimed, looking at Russ. "What could you be planning that

would take that long for?"

"Well, I need to get one for you, Sasami, Tenchi, Ryoko,

Nobuyuki, Yosho, Washu, Mihoshi, Kiyone, and Ryo-Ohki.

That's going to take a lot of planning, especially for what I like to

do during Christmas." Russ grinned evilly, as he eyed both the

princesses. "It's going to be big."

Now both girls stared at him, their curiosity already

beginning to manifest and grow, wondering what he could be

thinking of that could be so gigantic and wonderful. In the past,

Russ was known to really go out of his way for holiday gifts,

especially for Christmas. Even though he was unsure as to what to

get everybody, six months should be plenty of time to decide and

plan out the perfect presents. Figuring that he'd have to call in a

few favors, he'd do his very best to make everybody happy, even if

it was only for one day. The problem was it was almost as

torturous for Russ to keep it a secret as it was for everybody else.

Already some ideas were beginning to develop inside Russ's mind,

and he began to grow excited, already thinking about Christmas.

However, he bit his tongue and decided to take one risk, and that

was to read their minds when they didn't know it, to be able to get

the absolute, most perfect present.

"Well, we're going to be in my parents living quarters.

There is a big tree there with lots of presents under it already,"

Sasami said, still holding onto Russ's arm.

"I'm sorry that I don't have anything to give you guys. I

feel bad about it. Maybe I can find something real fast" Russ

stopped in mid-sentence as his mind began racing, and he decided

on something.

"What is it, Russ?" Aeka asked, watching his changing

expressions.

"Hmmm? Oh, nothing. I just thought of something,

that's all," Russ answered, walking up the palace steps and making

his way inside the front doors.

"Well, what is it?" Sasami inquired, pulling on his arm.

"You'll see it soon enough," Russ replied, smiling in a

sadistic way. "No hints until then."

Sasami pouted. "No fair." She then started gigging.

After a few minutes, they both made their way down the

main hallway to the Royal Family's quarters. Misaki unlocked and

then pushed open the massive doors, and then turned on the lights

to the room. Everybody entered directly into a living room, which

was extremely huge. Furniture that was crafted from only the most

skilled woodworkers on Jurai presented itself on the floor,

surrounding a gigantic, fifteen-foot tall Startica tree. A gorgeous,

red oriental rug was placed under it and the furniture, and the rest

of the flooring was hard wood. On a nearby wall, a beautiful

fireplace complete with gold trimmed glass windows was set into

the wall, with a marble mantle on top of it. About three quarters

the way inside the living room, there was a step up to another level

of the floor, which was the dining area, in case they wanted to eat

privately. A long table, some twenty feet in length sat on this

landing, made of a very light colored wood, as was everything else

in the room. A large chair sat at the middle of the table, and two

smaller ones sat at the ends. The entire room was extremely bright

and cheery, but didn't have a lot of color outside of wood. Lights

of all styles and craftsmanship were placed around the room,

which were made of old, black iron, and looked like something out

of medieval times. A crystal chandelier hung at the very top of the

twenty-foot tall vaulted ceiling that had nearly fifty small lights on

it. It sparked like a well-polished jewel.

Russ, Tenchi, and everybody else who have never been in

a high class situation before looked on it in complete awe, and

couldn't help but marvel at the grandness of the place.

Everywhere they turned, they saw items that they could've only

dreamt of affording. The only thing that Russ found a problem

with is that there was no technology, in terms of a stereo system or

form of entertainment. Assuming that they had yet another room

for that kind of thing, he continued gawking at everything in the

room, and barely noticed that Misaki, Funaho, and Asuza had sat

down on a nearby loveseat and were waiting for everybody to join

them, ready to hand out the gifts.

"Aeka?" Misaki called over to her daughter, who was

now pulling on Russ's arm, who barely seemed to notice her.

"You're first. Here's one of your presents!" Misaki waved around

a package that had some really unusual wrapping paper on it, in

that it was a very pretty shade of violet. It almost matched Aeka's

hair color.

Just as she was about to accept the package, she turned

around to see everybody as she opened it, and her jaw dropped in

astonishment. Russ was gone. Vanished. Poof. Just like he

wasn't there to begin with, and she frowned in disappointment.

"He's gone AGAIN!" she yelled, drawing curious stares

from all the occupants in the room. A moment later, they realized

whom she was referring to.

"Not again," Sasami said, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry,

Aeka. He's probably doing something and he'll be right back.

Maybe he went to the bathroom or something."

Aeka sighed to herself, and began to open her small

package.

"I gotta get this stuff to their rooms before they finish

their gift exchange," Russ said to himself, racing toward Aeka and

Sasami's room. Reaching it in a matter of moments, he used his

instantaneous movement ability and teleported inside their room.

Quickly leaving a gift on Aeka's bed, one on Sasami's and leaving

one on the floor for Ryo-Ohki, he left their room and teleported to

Tenchi and Ryoko's room, leaving a gift for each on their bed.

Repeating the same thing to get to Washu's room, he left her a gift

on her bed, then proceeded to Yosho and Nobuyuki's room, and

left the last present there.

"Well, that didn't take long," he said, and then let out a

massive yawn. "I feel like Santa Claus. But anyway, I should go

to bed. I'd feel funny about going back there. I think they'd

understand." Stretching and yawning once more, he teleported

himself back to his bedroom, where he quickly turned on his desk

fan, undressed down to his underclothes, and flopped onto his bed,

where he fell asleep almost instantly, snoring like a hibernating

bear.

"Oooh! That Russ. He'll never learn," Aeka growled,

her hands balled into fists at her sides, as she stomped off to her

room, trailed by Sasami and Ryo-Ohki.

"Oh Aeka, would you stop it already? You're going to

drive yourself AND Russ crazy with the way you worry about him.

Stop it already. It's not like the war between you, Ryoko and

Tenchi, where you'd have to watch Ryoko like a hawk all day

long," Sasami said, tossing her hands into the air in exasperation.

"You're so insecure about him and he's the last person on Earth

that you'd need to be concerned about!"

Aeka sighed in resignation. "Of course, you're right,

Sasami. I guess I just got so accustomed to being so worried about

someone else that I forgot what it's like to not worry about being

betrayed, or left behind."

"I understand that, Aeka, but you're overboard with him!"

Aeka giggled. "I guess that's what happens when you

chase someone. You'll learn about it sooner or later."

Sasami stared at her sister for a moment, and then looked

a little worried. "I won't be like you, will I?" she asked, cracking a

small grin.

Aeka whirled around and looked down at her little sister,

and then started laughing. "Sasami, you're bad. Come on, I'm

tired. Let's hit the sack, okay?"

"Yeah. But anyway, how do you like your gift?"

"It's nice, but not as nice as the present from Ryoko and

Tenchi from a few weeks ago." Aeka held up a beautifully crafted

emerald ring, made from platinum and emerald jewels, in a design

that would've made a computer crash if it tried to render it. "Just

another thing to add to my collection."

"If you don't want it, I'll have it," Sasami said, hopeful.

"Forget it. You'll probably blackmail this out of me

anyway as you did with the amethyst necklace and the matching

earrings and bracelet!"

Sasami giggled. "I don't know what you're talking

about."

"I'm sure you don't," Aeka said, arrogantly. "But how do

you like your present?"

"It's pretty nice, although, I would've rather had

something else," she said, carrying a brand new, ultra expensive

silk bathrobe. "I'm still a kid you know."

Aeka began giggling, and then started laughing. "Says

the one who always says, 'I'm not too little' all the time."

Sasami was about to say something, but they had made it

to their room, and Aeka pushed open the door, and then turned on

the light.

A huge violet lion, and a massive green bear sat on each

of their beds, respectively. The lion was for Aeka, and the bear for

Sasami. Both of them stopped, stared, and then turned to look at

each other, and they both knew whom it came from.

"We're going to have to thank Russ for these. You know,

he didn't get anything either. I guess he thought he was," Sasami

said quietly, admiring the huge toy on her bed. She then noticed

the super huge stuffed cabbit toy on the floor, which looked almost

identical to Ryo-Ohki herself. "And I bet I know who this is for,"

she giggled.

"That Russ he's something else, that's for sure."

Turning around and closing the door to their room, they

locked it for the night, undressed, and fell asleep, all three of them

clutching the super sized animals for the night.

Washu, Kiyone, and Mihoshi all walked together down

the hall, heading to their rooms for the night. They were all

carrying gifts from the Royal Family, and they were all extremely

happy with their loot. They came to stop in front of the Galaxy

Police's quarters.

"Well, I had a real good time today. Thanks for having

me tag along with you girls."

"No problem, Washu. We enjoyed your company,"

Kiyone said, smiling, and then letting out a huge yawn, stretching

her arms over her head.

"Yeah Washu! Would you like to accompany us again

tomorrow?" Mihoshi invited.

Watching the both of them, she grinned and nodded her

head. "I think I'd like that. Thank you, Mihoshi. I appreciate it."

"Oh, think nothing of it. You can buy us dinner again!"

she said happily, and drawing a curious but perturbed look from

Washu. Kiyone just groaned and smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow in that case, Washu. Good night,"

Kiyone said, pushing open her door and walking inside, nearly

dragging Mihoshi with her. Both girls stopped almost instantly

when they turned on the light and stared at their beds. On

Kiyone's bed, a small, green, froglike stuffed animal sat on her

pillow, and a brown teddy bear sat on Mihoshi's. They both

looked at the animals in astonishment, then turned to look at

Washu, who happened to notice Kiyone's and Mihoshi's hesitation

when they entered their room.

"What's this?" Kiyone asked to nobody in particular.

"Oh wow! Santa must've visited us!" Mihoshi squealed

in delight.

"Santa doesn't visit Jurai, and he's just a folklore!"

Kiyone shouted.

Mihoshi looked at her in confusion. "Then it was the

Easter Bunny?"

Both Washu and Kiyone facefaulted, recovered, and

shook their heads. They looked at each other, shared a quick

laugh, and smiled at each other.

"Good night, Washu. See you tomorrow," Kiyone said

again, closing the door behind her.

Washu grinned. "Good night, girls."

Now alone, she proceeded to her own room, where she

was now expecting to see something there, waiting for her. She

knew that this is why Russ vanished earlier, but her curiosity was

starting to get the better of her as she pushed open her own door

and stepped inside.

Turning on her light, she looked on her bed, and saw her

gift. She couldn't help but smile, since it was her favorite type of

gift. A red crab, about two feet in diameter, was sprawled on her

pillow. The real kicker was that this crab had a ribbon on it.

Shedding her clothes quickly and turning out her light,

she flopped into her bed and hugged the crab tightly, and quickly

drifted off into peaceful slumber, completely forgetting about any

scientific analysis that she had the computers perform the night

before. It could all go to hell for a couple days. The world wasn't

going to end if she didn't work on something for that long.

Yosho and Nobuyuki entered their room, turned on the

light, and noticed a small stuffed bokken sitting on their beds.

They stopped, stared and smiled, knowing whom it came from.

Setting it on the dresser, they quickly jumped into bed and fell

asleep quickly, worn out from a day of shopping and motherly

torture.

Lastly, Tenchi and Ryoko both went into their room to

find presents on their bed. On the bed, a miniature version of

Tenchi and a stuffed doll of Ryoko both sat, waiting for their new

owners. Ryoko and Tenchi both stared at each other, lifted his or

her presents at the exact same time, and they both chuckled, and

then started laughing.

"Only Russ would be able to find something like this in

such a short period of time. Hey, these are the prizes he won while

we were all out today. I wonder what everybody else got?" Tenchi

asked, putting the Ryoko doll back on the bed and pulling his shirt

off.

"Who knows? I'm tired. Let's go to sleep, Tenchi," she

said, pulling him down to the bed, where she had already laid

down. "We've got another big day ahead of us."

"Yeah. Good night, Ryoko," he answered, flopping onto

his pillow.

"Good night, Tenchi. See you in the morning."

Tenchi leaned over and kissed her, and then laid his head

on the pillow, drifting off into slumber a few minutes later.

Ryoko, however, stayed awake a little while longer. She

began to think about Aeka and how differently she acted around

Russ in comparison with Tenchi. She almost seemed paranoid,

even though she had no need to be. Russ wasn't going anywhere

soon. Debating on bringing it up with Aeka tomorrow, she looked

over at her treasure, which was sleeping peacefully beside her.

Feeling a little bit of pity for her once rival, she sighed and drifted

off to sleep a short while later.


	13. Chapter 13

Ep 13 Startica, Part 2

I finally decided to change this silly header. *snicker* Anyway, everybody

knows the copyright information so I'll just forgo that. The story is

approaching the end. I predict another 3 chapters give or take 2, and that'll

be it. It's been a lot of fun writing this little saga (which is surprising, since

I have a hard time writing a 6 page term paper!) and I hope you've enjoyed

reading it too. I MAY do a second series or continuation of the story, or I

may not end this at all. It all depends. Send all hate mail / fan mail to

.

Notice! New Website is going up for the Tenchi fans! Come check it out at

.net and sign the Guestbook, letting me know you were

there. The fanfic will also be posted there, as will it be on the TMFFA,

AND on .net.

For the family's third and final time, the sunlight of dawn chased

away the shadows for the last day of the Startica festival, and the last day of

everybody's vacation. Even though they had been on the planet for three

days, it seemed way less than that. Time had just flown by, leaving

everybody in the dust. However, it was very satisfying for everybody to

finally kick back and relax, and just enjoy each other's company on such a

gorgeous planet.

Everybody had gotten up fairly early and made their way to the

breakfast table. Everyone, except for Russ, who had seemed to vanish into

thin air once more.

"You have got to be kidding me! Where is he now?" Aeka

snapped, sitting at the table and glaring at the empty seat. "I can't believe

he misses meals like this. It's really rude."

Sasami rolled her eyes and leaned toward Misaki. "Here we go

again," she whispered, then started giggling.

Already in a bad mood, Asuza was not about to put up with his

daughters complaining. "Be quiet! All you ever do is whine and moan

about where he goes. Who cares!" Glaring hard at Aeka, he sat up

straighter. "No barbarian of that kind should ever even have the privilege

of living with the crown princess of this planet let alone even consider

courting her!"

Everybody immediately became deathly quiet, turning their

attention to the meal in front of them and trying not to look at the king, who

had his eyebrows furrowed together and had an aura of rage about him.

Aeka stared at her father like he had suddenly sprouted a third eye, and she

failed to come up with a suitable retort.

Caught completely off guard by his nastiness and meanness,

several tears welled up in Aeka's eyes as she stared hard at her father,

letting the rage build higher and higher until it nearly reached the breaking

point.

"How dare you speak about him like that! You don't know

anything about him!" she shouted, the tears now streaming down her

cheeks. "What is your problem with him anyway?"

"He's less than a peasant here. He is nothing. He has nothing to

give to this kingdom or to you, which would even qualify as an offering,"

he dictated, as if giving a speech. "You will not become involved with him!

You will only see him for what he is, and that is just a dirty piece of trash."

Staring wide-eyed, the tears continued to drip from the bottom of

her chin. "That's not fair! I see him for what he is, and that is a kind,

caring, considerate and an incredibly nice man! I like him for who he is!

Why must you meddle in this and treat him like you do?"

"You know what I see?" Asuza began, staring hard into her

daughter's saddened eyes. "I see a man who has no morals, is rude,

conceded, has nothing to offer, takes up space, and is a waste of flesh. He

is so privileged to even know you, yet he continually shoves it in your face

since he doesn't care. You think he's a nice man? Hah! There are

hundreds of suitors out there who could benefit you, care for you, love you,

and contribute to the empire as well," he decreed, slamming his fist down

on the table, causing a few droplets of miso soup to splash out of his bowl.

He stood up from his chair. "But you can't see that, can you? You've been

blinded by this piece of trash and have been seduced by him." Asuza sat

back down and continued. "You're only seeing what you want to see and

nothing more! You can't see past the front he is laying down for you, can

you? No! Of course you can't. I don't know what that man has said to you

to make you behave like this, but I can assure you that he is not the man you

think he is, and furthermore"

"SHUT UP!" Aeka screamed, her face beet red. "How dare you

say anything like that about him! You two haven't even SPOKEN to each

other! How can you draw conclusions like that! The first thing you did

when you met him was glare at him and turn away! You've been nothing

but rude to him, so it's no wonder he doesn't like you! That's all you've

done this entire time is badger and beleaguer him. I've had enough! He's

more of a man than you'll ever be! I hate you!" She immediately turned

and ran to the door, sobbing uncontrollably.

Asuza just let her go, and turned his attention back to his breakfast,

despite the horrified looks by both his wives, and a very sad face from

Sasami. The only sound in the hall was the door slamming behind Aeka,

and the occasional scrape of silver on china from those who were still

finishing their breakfasts, and a few sobs from the little princess.

Misaki stood up slowly, wiped her mouth off with a napkin, and

turned toward her husband with a vengeance. She bent down slowly,

placing her hand on top of his head and turning it toward her, looking

directly into his eyes, so he could see the burning inferno in her own.

"Get up. You and I are going to talk about our daughter," she

demanded quietly, through clenched teeth. "Now."

Looking back at her coolly, and with a slight hint of fear, he shook

his head, despite Misaki's iron grip on top of his hair. "After breakfast."

Raising her eyes to look at Funaho, she motioned for her to stand,

which she did. Turning her attention back to her husband, she put her face

directly in front of his once more. "Not later. Now. Get up, and you're

coming with both of us."

Sighing in resignation, he rose from his seat, amidst the stares from

around the table. "Please excuse me. My wives and I have something to

discuss. We will be back momentarily."

Misaki shook her head. "We'll be gone for about an hour. Please,

find something to do after breakfast, and we'll come and get you once we're

done. I'd recommend waiting within the palace."

Nods from the various people sitting around the table gave her the

acknowledgement she was looking for, and she regally, quickly, and

roughly, led her husband out of the dining hall, trailed by Funaho. Asuza

looked very nervous at hearing how long this conversation was going to

take.

Tenchi turned toward Ryoko. "What do you think is going to

happen?" he whispered quietly.

"I'm not sure you want to know, Tenchi. Jurai customs are quite

strange in comparison to what goes on back home," she replied, turning

away from Tenchi and looking fearfully at the door that the royals had just

exited. "I almost pity the king right now."

"Even after how he made Aeka cry?"

Ryoko became thoughtful for a split second, and an evil grin

presented itself on her lips. "Lets just say that he's going to get what he

deserves."

"I thought so, but what about Aeka? Where did she go?"

"Come on, Tenchi. Let's go find her," Ryoko suggested. "I'm

sure she needs a friend right now."

Tenchi nodded and stood up, and Ryoko did the same. Azaka and

Kamidake also rose from their seats, and approached the two.

"We'd like to accompany you as well, if you don't mind,"

Kamidake asked.

"Certainly. You two probably know Aeka better than the both of

us," Ryoko agreed. "Do you know where she went?"

"Not at the moment. But we have a couple of pretty good guesses.

She probably either went to her room, out into the garden, or possibly into

the theater. Most of those places are currently empty, and it would be a

good place for her to be alone," Azaka said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Let's go."

"Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-five Nine thousand, nine

hundred, ninety-six Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-seven" Russ

grunted, performing pushups in the garden, where he was currently alone.

The weather was so nice outside that he figured he might as well train in the

outdoors, where he would be able to enjoy the scenery, the soft grasses, and

the pleasant temperatures. He had been exercising since he got up this

morning, which was before everybody else. It was still dark outside when

he began his routine under intense gravity. Increasing the gravity by ten a

day had really begun to push him to his limits, and he could feel it making

him stronger and stronger. But just because he was on vacation didn't mean

he could take a vacation from his exercise.

"Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-eight" he growled again,

the salty perspiration dripping off of the end of his nose like a leaky faucet.

Since it was still early, there was hardly anybody out and about, and it was

very quiet and peaceful, except for a few insects that buzzed around his

head and the call of some early morning birds.

"Nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-nine Ten thousand!" he

said triumphantly, and then he collapsed onto the grass, breathing heavily

and giving his body a quick break. Rolling onto his back, he looked up into

the brightening sky, where the sun had already crested the distant horizon.

He closed his eyes and could feel sleep tugging at him from the back of his

mind, but he knew he would need to continue, and it was only the beginning

of the day. It was still quiet, aside from some elderly people who had left

their homes and were already walking the streets. The soft scraping of their

shoes on the ground and their idle chatter just barely to made it to Russ,

where he continued to lounge, near a flowerbed. The sounds of four people

walking down the nearby pathway finally reached his ears, and their voices

reached him a moment later. Listening to the conversation for a moment,

he immediately recognized all four individuals.

Grunting and straining to get himself into a sitting position, he

looked over top of the short flowers and saw Ryoko, Tenchi, Azaka, and

Kamidake coming down the path, slowly, but looking quite concerned at

each other. A moment later Ryoko noticed Russ sitting on the ground and

watching them, and she quickly began to make her way over to him, while

everybody else followed her.

"What's up guys? Is something wrong?" Russ asked, noting

everybody's appearance.

"Hey Russ. What are you doing out here?" Tenchi asked, looking

down at Russ's sitting form.

Russ smiled. "I was exercising. Instead of doing it in the training

room, I decided to do it here. It's nice and comfortable out here, plus the

scenery is nicer."

"I see. Have you seen Aeka yet this morning?"

"No I haven't," Russ answered, watching everybody's changing

expressions. "Why? Is something the matter?"

"Well, no. Not really," Tenchi began. "But she got into a fight

with her father at breakfast today."

Russ's eyebrow twitched slightly and he unconsciously clenched

his hands into fists. "What happened?"

Ryoko looked at Tenchi, and then back down at Russ. "It was

about you and Aeka again. The king basically hates your guts and he

doesn't want his daughter having anything to do with you," Ryoko said,

drawing a look of shock from all the bystanders at her bluntness. "She ran

out of the hall and took off, and we've been looking for her, to keep her

company and console her."

Russ shook his head. "Man, what should I do? Most of you guys

want me involved with her, and her father wants just the opposite. And to

be honest, I don't WANT to become involved. You guys know that. If you

do find her, tell her that her father is right."

Staring at him in utter disbelief, Ryoko nearly fell over. "You

WHAT?! I'd never do such a thing to her! You don't even know what he

said about you!"

Nodding his head, Russ shifted positions to a more comfortable

posture. "I don't need or want to know. Her father is a jerk and I don't

want anything to do with him. He can blow all the hot air he wants. I know

what I am and so do you guys. And I do not want to become involved. Not

yet. Maybe not ever."

Ryoko and Tenchi both facefaulted at hearing what he had to say.

"I can't believe it. Why?" Tenchi demanded.

"Look who's talking," Russ retorted, becoming peeved. "You've

got no room to say anything, lover boy. How long did it take you to

become involved? Hmmm?"

Tenchi looked nervously over at Ryoko, who looked a little hurt.

"It took me a long time to finally realize what I've been missing out on. I

don't want anybody else to go through that."

"It's my choice and my life. I live it how I want," Russ said,

glaring at the two of them. "I do not want a girlfriend. Maybe when I'm a

hundred and ten, but not now."

"Russ, come on. You're being ridiculous. You're worse than I

was," Tenchi said, folding his arms over his chest. "I didn't want to hurt

either of them. In the end, it was Ryoko who finally made me realize who I

wanted."

Russ rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you find Aeka, do whatever

you have to do to cheer her up, but don't say anything like, 'It'll be okay.

Russ will still be waiting for you.' or something along those lines. She's a

princess and I'm nothing. And even though I treat her normally and as a

friend, I haven't forgotten that she IS royalty. What do you think would

happen if she married me and had to come back here to perform her

duties?"

"Things like that only matter to the king, Russ. Not everybody

else," Azaka said from behind Ryoko. He sidestepped a little and brought

himself into full view. "What the king says and what she wants are two

entirely different things. Do you really want to hurt her feelings? Are you

so stubborn that you won't even open yourself to any kind of relationship?

I don't get it."

Russ sighed to himself. "Give me a break you guys. So what

you're saying is that I should become involved, even though I myself do not

want to, just to make someone else happy? That's going a little too far in

my book."

"What irks me is the fact that you won't even try it!" Ryoko

growled. "She's such a wonderful person and you just slammed the door in

her face before she even got her foot in it. It's amazing that she's still

pursuing you."

"I wish she didn't," Russ replied. "I like being friends. I do things

for others because they're my friends. What's so great about a relationship

anyway?"

"You have no idea because you've never tried it," Kamidake said,

making his presence known. "You have no idea what you're missing,

especially with a beautiful, wonderful, and talented person like Aeka."

"That's probably true. But the answer is still going to be no," Russ

answered, standing up with great effort. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to

get back to exercising."

"I'd rather have you come with us. You said you were a friend to

her, right? And she needs a friend right now. Would you please come with

us and help us find her?" Tenchi asked, grabbing Russ's arm as he turned to

walk away.

Russ stopped and turned toward them, looking at all four of their

faces, which all read the same thing. Rolling his eyes once more, he

growled a few rude phrases to himself in his native language and turned the

gravity machine off.

"Fine, let's get this over with."

"Thanks Russ. It'll really mean a lot to both her and us, and it'll

prove to her father that you really do care."

Russ ignored him as he followed Tenchi down the path, trying to

find Aeka.

Sometime later and back onboard the Star Destroyer, Tom and his

crew were still hustling about, prepping the Escort Transports for departure,

which would allow the other half of his crew to join in the festivities. Fuel

hoses were brought out and connected to the massive fuel reservoir on the

transports, cleaning and maintenance droids scooted around inside the

massive hold, checking and re-checking all the necessary systems for

problems, and the pilots were in the process of putting on their flight suits.

Tom held up a roster and made an announcement over the ship's

communication system that the second group was to report to the hanger

bay for departure. The remainder of the crew was to remain onboard and

keep the ship running properly, and to basically remain on standby just in

case something happened.

Returning to the bridge, Tom sat down in the captain's chair, and

let out a huge sigh. Yesterday was quite an adventure for him. He had

never seen so many games or different varieties of technology that was for

sale during the festival. It reminded him exactly of Christmas but in the

month of July. A particular pale-faced girl remained on duty, and she

elected to not go down to the planet for some unknown reason.

"Is something bothering you, Sakuya? You're free to go down and

visit the planet. Please go and enjoy yourself. Engel here can take care of

your duties just for today," Tom invited, hoping to get her to take a

vacation.

She shook her head slowly. "No thank you. I'm fine here. There

are some other things that I want to take care of."

"Come on. Something is bothering you. What's wrong? You

look depressed," Tom pressed, wondering why she refused to budge from

her seat.

Turning toward him, she looked at him with sad, green eyes. Her

pale face showed nothing but depression and sadness, but her voice

remained calm and steady. "It's okay. I just need to keep busy and I won't

think about it, sir."

Scratching his head a moment, Tom became thoughtful. "I've

never seen you like this before, Sakuya. It all started when we picked up

Russ and his friends. Since then, you've acted kind of weird. I thought it

was only a fluke and that you were having an off day. Would you please

tell me what's wrong so we can maybe find a solution?"

Sakuya's eyes widened slightly at the mention of Russ's friends.

She instantly thought of Tenchi. An image of him popped up in her mind,

but was replaced by another one of Ryoko draping her arms around him.

Ryoko looked at her and gave a sadistic little smile, and she could almost

hear her chuckling to herself.

"Sakuya? Hey, come on now. Look, if I take you down there

myself, would you go? Please?" Tom asked, seeing her changing

expressions. She snapped out of it a moment later.

Once again shaking her head, she declined his invitation. "No

thank you. I'd rather remain here. Fairs or festivals never really appealed

to me. I don't like huge crowds of people."

Tom shook his head and sighed. "If that is what makes you happy,

then you can stay."

"Thank you, sir."

Smiling, he shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

A small explosion flashed out of the corner of Tom's eye, and he

quickly turned toward it, squinting at something outside of the windows.

"Did you see that? Give me a status report on what's going on out

there," he ordered, standing up and trying to get a better view.

"Scanning," Sakuya responded. "Sir, it appears that a small

shuttlecraft is out of control, and is being chased by a couple Galaxy Police.

I think the shuttle is trying to get away from them. They're heading this

way. They're being very reckless."

"I see. Well, if they come this way, we'll lend our assistance," he

said, sitting down at his chair and keying a few commands on the armrest.

He turned on the communications system once more.

"Attention. This is the captain. We're going to yellow alert. All

gunners are to proceed to your designated turrets. Arm all ion cannons and

arm all tractor beams. There is a shuttlecraft that is evading the Galaxy

Police. If they come within range, open fire with ion cannons only. We

only want to disable them, not destroy them."

A warning klaxon sounded and the warning lights around the entire

warship flashed yellow. A few more moments later, Tom could see most of

the turrets begin rotating from the bridge. Quickly diverting power from the

engines to the weapons, all sixty ion cannons began charging up. It didn't

take long, and the shields were brought up. The transports that were

supposed to be leaving were still waiting in the hanger bay, ready to depart.

Watching the shuttle on a monitor, he could see that whoever was

piloting it wasn't very good, or he was just completely out of his mind.

Narrowly missing other vessels in its flight path, it continually dodged side

to side, up and down, and basically all over the place, trying to evade the

GP fighters that followed it. Every few moments he could see weapons fire

from the GP, but they continually managed to miss the small and agile

shuttle.

It continued to approach the Gray Wolf, but the pilot made a few

critical errors. Nicking one vessel that was parked in orbit, he spun out of

control and slammed into another Jurai Warship, which was parked two or

three kilometers in front of Tom. If it weren't for the shields on that craft, it

would've been completely annihilated. However, the Jurian Warship

wasn't so lucky. A small explosion erupted from the point of impact, and

as a result, knocked it out of stationary orbit. Slowly, it began to fall toward

the planet surface.

"Jesus Christ! If that ship hits the planet, hundreds of people could

be killed! Broadcast a message to the Jurians now! Tell them to get their

ground based defenses up or something so they can blow it up before it hits

the ground!" Tom shouted, directing his communications officer.

The small shuttle entered firing range, and hundreds of blue bolts

of energy began streaking from the turrets mounted on the warship. Over

three quarters of them impacted the shuttle, and it quickly shut itself down

and began to drift, letting the momentum of its erratic course continue to

move it forward. A moment later, several tractor beams locked onto the

ship and held it in place. The GP fighters surrounded the derelict vessel,

and one docked with it.

"Great, we got them. Did Jurai acknowledge the message or

what?"

"Yes sir, but they don't have any ground based defenses! They

always relied on their ships or some other kind of airborne assault

weaponry! And all of that is currently disabled!"

"Oh my god. I hope someone does something or hundreds of

people are going to meet a very gruesome demise."

Sitting on the palace steps, Misaki, Funaho, Aeka, Russ, Tenchi,

Ryoko, Azaka, and Kamidake all sat quietly, not saying much of anything

to anybody. It was quite a contrast to the bustling activity on the streets of

Jurai, where the Startica festival resumed in full force. People were

smiling, laughing, and completely enjoying themselves and the company of

their friends, as they walked from booth to booth, or shopped at the various

stores.

Aeka's eyes were red from crying, and she sat silently with her

head down, despite Ryoko and Tenchi's attempts to make her feel better.

Russ sat at the foot of the steps, his chin resting in the palm of his hand with

his elbow resting on his knee, resembling the statue of The Great Thinker.

He too remained as silent as Aeka, lost in thought.

"Aeka dear? Your father didn't mean what he said. He was

simply in a bad mood and he unfortunately took it out on you. We

discussed it with him, so I don't think there is going to be any more

problems," Misaki said, squeezing her daughter's tense shoulder. "There is

no need to be sad anymore. You came here to enjoy yourself, so do it.

Don't let anything your father says bother you."

Aeka slowly lifted her head and looked into her mother's caring

eyes. Her cheeks were still wet from weeping. "I know, but he does it so

often. How can anyone not be hurt after going through something like

that?"

"I understand, Aeka. But it's okay. Everything is just fine now.

Would you please enjoy your last day before you have to go home? I know

you guys are planning on leaving this evening, and I'd really hate for you

guys to leave in a bad mood, or have some other event make you not want

to come back next year. I'd never forgive myself if that happened," Misaki

said to Aeka, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Aeka finally cracked a smile, as if a tremendous burden was lifted

from her shoulders. "I'm okay now, mom. Thank you for everything. I

love you. You're the best mom anyone could have."

Misaki blushed slightly and crushed her daughter in one of her

famous bear hugs. "That means so much to me to her you say that. I love

you too, Aeka."

"We all love you as well, Aeka. You're a part of our family, and I

wouldn't have it any other way," Tenchi said, grasping her hand and giving

it a tender squeeze.

Ryoko smiled and nodded her head. "I feel the same way. You've

become like a sister to me. Your happiness means as much to me as my

own."

Aeka's eyes widened at hearing this revelation, and she smiled,

letting a few more tears stream from her eyes. "Thank you all of you.

For everything."

Out of nowhere, an alarm began wailing in the distance, and

several more joined it a moment later. Russ's head snapped up from his

daydream and looked around, then back at Misaki.

"What's going on? What is that?"

"That's the air raid siren. But why is it going off right now? There

aren't supposed to be any tests for another three days."

Sasami ran out of the palace, and she looked extremely worried as

she approached the group.

"Mom! Thank goodness I found you. A ship was knocked out of

orbit and it's falling toward the planet! It's going to crash into this general

vicinity! We have to take cover!" she shouted, now pulling on Misaki's

arm.

"What?! What about the anti air defense grid? Why aren't they

trying to blow it up?" Misaki demanded, standing up and looking down at

her daughter.

"All of that has been disabled for the Startica festival! They turned it

off because there was so much traffic and they were worried about the

automated defenses firing on suspicious vessels! Come on, mom! We have

to take cover now!" Sasami shouted in panic, continuing to drag her mother

to the door.

"Where is the ship?" Russ asked, looking skyward.

"It's supposed to be right above us," Sasami said, looking up.

Everybody else turned his or her eyes to the sky and searched for

the falling warship. Sasami gasped and began pointing toward a glowing

red dot in the air.

"There it is! I can see it!" she yelled, allowing more panic and fear

to enter her voice.

Russ also noticed the falling vessel, and he clenched his fists.

"Does that ship have a crew onboard?"

"Only a skeleton crew. Just enough to run the ship," Misaki told

him.

"Then why aren't they trying to regain control?"

"There must be something wrong with the engines, otherwise they

probably would've been able to. We're going to have to destroy that ship.

There isn't anything else we can do."

Russ looked back toward the group and smiled. "I've got this one

covered."

Everybody turned and watched him stand up, sprint about ten feet

away from the group and leap into the air, a green fireball of ki exploding

around his body. He rocketed off into the sky being followed by a green

vapor trail, marking his flight path.

Flying at near top speed, the ground below him got incredibly

small, but the falling vessel got quite large really fast. Stopping himself in

mid-air, he began flying backwards as the ship caught up to him. Getting

directly in the ship's flight path, he pressed his hands to the hull and began

to try to slow the vessel down.

"OOOOOWWWWW!" he screamed, quickly withdrawing his

hands and blowing air on his smoking palms. "That thing is damn HOT!"

Looking back at the ship, he encased his hands in a shield of ki,

and once again placed both his hands on the hull. Pressing with incredible

strength, he began to slow the ship's fall. He didn't use all of his force,

since he knew he couldn't stop the ship instantly or everybody inside would

be killed. It would be like slamming into the ground.

Gradually applying more and more force, he finally reached a level

of resistance to slow the ship down fast enough to keep from smashing into

the ground, but not kill everybody inside. It felt like three times earth's

normal gravity inside the ship, and nearly everybody was pressed to the

floor, unable to stand and move around.

"He's crazy! What is he doing?" Misaki yelled, looking at the red

dot begin to grow larger and larger. "He couldn't possibly be strong

enough to hold up a ship of that size!"

"Believe me," Tenchi began. "He is way more than capable of

doing what he's doing."

Misaki just shook her head. "Unreal. And we could actually SEE

his energy! I've never seen anything like that before either."

"My energy is blue, your highness," Azaka said, tapping his staff

on the ground. "All my energy blasts are blue that I shoot."

"Mine are all red," Kamidake added, standing next to his friend.

"But I don't think it really matters what color it is. I've never seen someone

charge up and fly like that before."

"He also has a transformation that we haven't seen yet," Washu

said, stepping out of the palace and drawing a bunch of curious stares. "He

says he's something called a Super Saiyan. I have yet to know what that

means, but apparently it is some sort of transformation he's capable of."

"What does it do? Do you have any idea, Washu?" Misaki

inquired.

"My only guess is that it makes him stronger, or gives him access

to his maximum power. He had given me a scouter a few weeks ago, and I

measured everybody with it. What the scouter does is takes a measurement

of your life energy and gives it a number. The higher the number, the more

power you have. However, some are capable of hiding it from scouters or

other energy detectors, like him," Washu explained.

"What was his number in comparison to one of you?" the empress

asked, genuinely curious. However, she kept her eye on the growing red

dot in the sky. It almost started looking like a ship at this time.

"Ryoko came in at about two thousand, which is really impressive,

even since she didn't have all her gems." Washu stopped and let that sink

in, letting everybody get a little anxious as she put on her most serious look.

"Russ came in at over four million, seven hundred thousand. That was over

two weeks ago, and since then, I think he's gotten much stronger. And not

only that, that's only his BASE power level. He has several abilities to

increase it many times above that. He used some technique called a

Kaioken attack at a multiple of three, and his power rocketed to over twelve

million."

Misaki stared at her in disbelief. "That's not possible. You mean

to tell me that he's" she paused a moment, working the math out in her

head. "Over two thousand, three hundred, fifty times more powerful than

RYOKO?!" Breathing heavily, she tried to let this sink in.

Having horrid flashbacks of Ryoko's original attack on Jurai and

the massive destruction she caused, led her to believe that the number was a

fluke. "That number can't be right. It's just not possible. Ryoko was the

most destructive force we ever encountered at the time. Um no offense,

Ryoko."

"None taken," the space pirate answered, a slight hint of pride in

her voice. Pride not because of what she did, but because she was

considered very strong.

"Believe me, it is very possible. He's radically powerful, but he

manages to hide it easily," Washu continued. "When he did the Kaioken at

level 3, I came down with a tremendous headache."

"So what I felt WAS real," Azaka said, aloud. "When I shook his

hand on the first day you arrived, I felt it. It was incredibly powerful."

"And that was the tip of the iceberg too," Washu told him.

Looking at the sky, she noticed the vessel still continuing its descent.

"Look! The ship is still coming down, but it isn't glowing anymore. I hope

he's okay. He's trying to slow the ship down without killing everybody

inside."

"Slow down, you piece of crap!" Russ shouted at the spaceship,

which was no longer glowing red hot. He since then placed his bare hands

on the hull and continued to apply a tremendous amount of force, and

continually slowed the ship.

Suddenly realizing that he miscalculated his descent velocity and

how much distance he really needed to stop the ship, he applied more

pressure to the hull. Not straining or stressing in the least, he watched the

ship carefully, making sure no parts or pieces fell off of it.

However, several cracks began to form around his hands, and they

began to snake around the outer hull of the ship.

Russ's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "OH CRAP! Too

much pressure! Come on, baby. Hold together for me now!" he

encouraged, continually applying a tremendous amount of force to the

already overstressed hull of the ship, moving his hands to a different

position. "Just a little more!"

Now only a mile above the ground, he could see people scurrying

around, trying to clear the way of where the ship would impact the ground.

However, clearing out enough space for a three hundred, seventy-four meter

long ship would take time, and unfortunately, it was something that the

people didn't have. Some just stopped in the middle of the street and

watched the spectacle, not afraid in the least, or realizing that they may as

well see their death coming.

The ship began to shudder and shake violently, as it now was

trying to fall to one side or the other, since its center of balance was thrown

off by its very slow descent factor.

Finally only about fifty feet above the ground, he finally got the

ship to stop in mid-air, just above the palace steps, where everybody

continued to watch with awestruck eyes. The massive warship just hovered

there, as if it were in operation. It began to tip and fall away from the

palace, and everybody could see Russ dart away from the front of the ship

to directly under it, and he caught it easily, quickly finding the center of

balance. Fortunately, the wood was extremely strong, so it didn't buckle

around the single pressure point generated by the saiyan.

Casually holding the ship over his head, he lowered himself and

the warship to about ten feet above the ground and slowly began to fly off

to the landing pad that was occupied by his Tie Defender. Everybody

quickly leapt up from his or her sitting positions and ran to the waiting pad,

keeping pace with Russ.

A few short moments later, he hovered over the pad, and he

descended to the ground. The concrete around his feet from his point of

impact shattered, unable to withstand such a tremendous amount of weight

in such a small area. Russ looked down at the two holes and the hundreds

of cracks that appeared, and he shook his head.

"Aw man, I forgot about that. Oh well." Leaning back a little, he

swung forward and threw the ship some ten feet away from him, where it

hit the ground with a thunderous crash.

Finally able to get a closer look at the ship, Russ could see the

damage that was done and why it couldn't fly. The shuttle in space had

crashed directly outside of an engine exhaust port, where most of the thrust

to keep the vessel aloft was generated. It had collapsed in on itself and then

exploded, taking the engine with it, and unfortunately, even though the ship

had two engines, it could not stay in orbit with just one. Not only that, but

the power plant for the ship was in that general vicinity, and when the

engine detonated, it knocked out the power plant. The wood around the

damaged site was still smoldering, and it looked like a complete wreck.

Russ figured that it would probably be docked and in repair for quite a

while.

Everybody ran up the steps to the landing pad and got a look at the

damaged ship, and at Russ. Misaki continued to stare at him in disbelief, as

Russ hadn't even broken a sweat, and he didn't even look like he had

worked himself at all.

"You saved the ship and everybody in this general vicinity, Russ,"

Misaki said, approaching him slowly. "You have my humble thanks and

appreciation. That was incredible though. How did you become so

powerful?"

Russ blushed. "I'm not that strong. I'm sure Azaka or Kamidake

would not have had a problem holding up a ship of this size. The legend

had said that they had the power to destroy stars. Isn't that correct?"

Azaka smirked. "That legend was greatly exaggerated. We're

strong enough to destroy a small fleet of ships of this size, but not much

more than that."

"So Russ, what is this thing I hear about you being called a Super

Saiyan? I've heard that was a legend too," Misaki pried, standing in front

of him. She looked into his black eyes and tried to see if he'd lie to her.

"Been talking to Washu, I see," he responded, looking over at the

red haired super genius, who chuckled and waved her hand, giving her best

sadistic smile. "It's simply a transformation that allows me to use my full

power. I almost never transform since I don't need to."

"Could you transform so I can see? I'm sure everybody else would

like to see it," Misaki pleaded.

Russ smiled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it takes a huge

amount of energy just to transform. I also don't like transforming all that

much. I hate showing it off," he frowned.

"Aw, come on. Please?"

"No."

Misaki frowned again and stood up straight. "If you don't show it

to me, I won't have my cooks feed you. How's that for incentive?"

Russ just grinned. "Not good enough, I'm afraid."

Everybody facefaulted, knowing how much Russ could really eat

when he was hungry. Misaki just became more determined.

"Okay, if that isn't good enough, how about this. I won't permit

you to date or court Aeka in any way, shape, or form, so long as you live,"

she decreed, thinking that she had him on the ropes. Azaka, Kamidake,

Ryoko, and Tenchi all broke out in sweat drops, as they knew that this was

probably a huge mistake.

Russ frowned at Misaki. He stared directly into her amethyst eyes,

trying to determine her serenity and her confidence. He decided to call her

bluff. But, if it wasn't a bluff, then it was what he was hoping for in the

first place. Even though Aeka was undoubtedly the perfect match for him,

at least as far as he could see, he could not bring himself to say yes.

"I'm sorry. I will not transform, no matter how you threaten me. I

do not respond well to any kind of threat, whether it is against my life or

something of a lesser cause."

Misaki's eyes widened, and she stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" she asked, still unable to comprehend what he just said.

"I said no," he answered, putting on his poker face and giving her

an emotionless gaze.

"You'd give up Aeka over simply transforming yourself into a

Super Saiyan?"

Russ nodded.

Aeka looked at him in shock, and nearly fainted. She began to

tremble slightly, squeezing her hands into fists. She gazed hard into Russ's

face, which was still turned toward her mother, who had the same exact

expression on her face as Aeka did. She let out a quiet sob, then stopped

herself, and continually repeated the same question to herself over and over

again.

"Why? I don't understand! Why?" Misaki nearly yelled, letting

her temper flare slightly.

"Because I don't want to. Because it's better this way. Because I

don't want to see anybody hurt as a result of my actions. Because a

relationship is too soon. Do I need to keep going?" Russ asked, standing

tall, not faltering to any kind of persuasion.

"But" Misaki began.

"No. I'm sorry." Russ looked at everybody's saddened faces and

they just looked on him with pity and sorrow. "I'm sorry to have invaded

your lives and give you this kind of grief. I never wanted or expected this

kind of thing. When we get back home, I'll move out and find some other

place to live. I'll manage somehow. You guys would probably do better

without me around."

Sasami's eyes went wide, and she began crying. Running over to

him as fast as she could, she threw her little arms around Russ's waist and

buried her face in his shirt. "Please don't go! I'd be so sad if you did!

You've been such a great friend to me and I don't want to see you go!"

Russ looked down at the little princess with surprise, and he looked

up at the rest of the group once more, taking in each of their expressions.

"Please, Russ. Please stay with us. Everybody has been so much

happier since you've been around. You're such a nice man to talk to!"

Sasami continued, hugging him tightly. She continued to sob quietly into

his clothes, until she felt a hand come down on top of her head, ever so

gently. Looking up into Russ's face, she became hopeful, and her eyes

sparkled, despite the streaming tears.

Carefully, Russ removed Sasami's arms from around his waist, and

he knelt down, looking up into her face. "Do you really want me to stay?"

"I do! Yes I do!" Sasami yelled, desperation in her voice.

"I do too," Aeka added. "Please."

"Me three," Ryoko demanded. "And if you leave, I'll find you and

kick your ass," she added. "And I owe you for moving in, as well."

"I think I speak for everybody here when I say that we want you to

stay with us," Tenchi said, stepping up to Russ. "We will stop pressuring

you about Aeka. Will that be fair enough?"

The Saiyan looked at him with surprise, and he nodded his head.

"You got yourself a deal."

Again, Sasami grabbed Russ around the neck in a warm hug,

eliciting a chorus of "Aww" from everybody. But there were way too many

voices to be just Russ and the group.

Suddenly noticing a massive crowd of people around the platform

and several dozen other people who stood near the warship, Russ's face

turned blue and he fainted dead away.

Aeka couldn't help but laugh, and she felt happy and contented,

and very satisfied that Russ would remain with them. However, she felt an

incredible sadness, since she now could see that he had no interest in any

kind of everlasting love for her. He was set in his ways, and it was almost

too much to bear. But, there was always the possibility of him changing his

mind, and that was enough to give her hope. However, she kept her false

smile on her visage as the crowd of people swarmed around everybody,

congratulating Russ on a job well done.

Back in the Royal Training Room, several hours after the incident

with the Jurian Warship, Russ continued his exercises in solitude. Straining

under intense gravity, he performed a rigorous routine of sit-ups,

handsprings, and other various aerobic exercises. The floor could barely

handle the amount of weight pressing down on it, and it continually cracked

and creaked under him.

Finally finishing his routine exercises, he began to spar by himself,

punching and kicking into the empty space. The sounds created by him

echoed around the room, making a considerable amount of extra noise, but

it didn't bother him all that much. His stereo system sat nearby, kicking the

soundtrack of the Saber Marionette series that Tom had given him earlier.

He continued to punch into the air at a rate of speed that couldn't be seen by

a normal human, and then he changed over to kicking.

After becoming bored with doing this for a while, he began to fly

around the room, sparring against an imaginary foe, as he zanzokened

across the room and back again, within the blink of an eye. Several

afterimages marked Russ's place as he appeared and vanished again, but

they faded into oblivion after a moment.

Salty perspiration continually ran off of his body as a result of

pushing himself to his limits. Continually changing styles of fighting,

techniques, and other ways of fighting, he finally landed on the floor in the

middle of the mat, and then fell over from exhaustion.

He lay there for several minutes, breathing heavily and feeling the

cold mat on his stressed body. Rolling onto his back, he stared at the

extremely high ceiling and relaxed, listening to the last third of Soshite

Itoshiki Omoi from Saber Marionette J.

"You are as strong as Washu says, aren't you?" a voice asked from

out of nowhere.

Russ turned his head to the source of the voice and smiled slightly,

noting the empress who stood some ten feet away. He nodded an

acknowledgement.

"But there was something that you had said yesterday that caught

me off guard. You can't form an energy weapon like a sword, can you?"

Russ struggled to sit up, and with great effort, he managed to prop

himself up to face Misaki. Reaching over to his stereo, he turned it off.

"That's correct. I've tried, but it blows up in my face whenever I do it."

Misaki chuckled. "You're just trying to squeeze a ball and hope it

forms into a weapon, right?"

Wearily, Russ nodded again. "Yeah. Is there some sort of other

trick to it?"

"Yeah. You have to focus your ki into the weapon. Just squeezing

an energy ball will always blow up. Here. Watch me," she said, moving

over to the training mat.

She stood about eight feet away from him, and she focused a little

of her power into the palm of her hand, where a ball of blue energy began to

glow. She squeezed, and a sword about four feet long appeared, humming

quietly with radiant energy.

Russ smiled. "Reminds me of a lightsaber out of Starwars," he

said.

Misaki looked at him in confusion. "What's Starwars?"

Russ's eyes bulged and he fell over. However, he then

remembered that he wasn't talking to an earthling. "Starwars is a movie

series back on Earth. It's a science fiction film, but it's wildly entertaining.

That massive ship in orbit is based off of the Star Destroyer you see in that

movie series."

"I see. And this was a weapon in it?"

"Sort of. The blade was made from energy, but the hilt was a

physical item."

Misaki nodded. "We also have our keys that act as a hilt, but some

of us can form a blade without it." She then began exercising with her

sword, casually performing the swordplay routine that Yosho had taught

Tenchi so many times before. The shimmering weapon hummed through

the air and around her body in a beautiful and very precise flow of motion, a

result of thousands of years of practice. She finished and extinguished her

weapon.

"Now, do you understand what I did?"

Russ shook his head. "Could you form the sword once more?"

"Sure."

Again, the blue ball appeared in her hand, and when she squeezed,

it formed into the blade once more. However, this time, Russ felt a change

in her energy, which he didn't see or feel before. But now he had a pretty

good idea of how it worked.

"My turn," he said, dragging himself to his feet, still under a huge

amount of gravity. Forming a small green ball of energy in his hand, he

squeezed it, and then placed the new power he felt from Misaki into it. The

ball flashed and then formed into a very crooked weapon, but it didn't

explode.

Misaki chuckled to herself as Russ concentrated very hard, doing

his very best to keep the blade in existence. He held it there for a few

seconds, and then he released his hand, which extinguished the abomination

that could only loosely be called a sword.

"Very good! Try it again, but this time, focus it into a straight line.

Remember, with an energy blade, the sword can cut from any angle, unlike

traditional weapons which are either one or two faced."

"Yes ma'am," Russ responded, once again allowing his energy to

flow into the palm of his hand. Once again he squeezed, applying his

newfound technique to his energy, and it formed into a perfectly straight

blade, about five feet in length. It hummed quietly, and Russ smiled in

satisfaction.

"Swing it around a few times to get the feel of it," Misaki

suggested.

Russ slowly brought the sword up and swung it down, and to his

surprise, it had a little weight to it. Swinging it in a wide arc in front of

him, he brought it back down in a diagonal slash, then across his front once

more with a horizontal slash, returning the sword to his right side.

"This is quite amazing and easy too. I'm surprised this thing has

some weight to it. I thought it wouldn't have any resistance at all."

"If it didn't have any resistance, it would be harder to control.

Once you master it a bit more, you'll probably learn how to remove the

weight factor from it, or add more," the empress told him, smiling.

Russ released his hand, allowing the sword to vanish into

nothingness. Feeling emboldened a bit, he formed another ball of energy

into his palm, this time coloring it blue. He held his hand out in front of

him, and squeezed. This time, the ball flashed and produced two blades,

each about three feet in length - A perfect staff. It hummed quietly and the

glow from the blue blade changed the color of Russ's clothes slightly.

Misaki smiled and nodded her head.

"Excellent. You're a quick study."

Russ grinned and released the staff, which vanished. "Thank you.

I appreciate you showing me how to do that little trick. It'll be most helpful

in my battle against Zorpheus."

Misaki smiled and nodded her head. "You're welcome. Now, it's

your turn to teach me something."

Russ looked at her in confusion. "Teach what?"

Misaki grinned. "Did you forget what you told me two days ago?"

Thinking back to the day before yesterday, he quickly ran through

the events in his mind and all the confrontations with Misaki. Still coming

up blank, he looked at her meekly. "I'm sorry, but I've got a bad memory.

What was it that I promised to show you?"

"That dance you did with Tom."

Russ's eyes went wide for an instant, and then he smiled. "I did

promise that, didn't I? I had forgotten. I'm sorry about that. Well, sure.

Let's get to work. The song that was played was November, by a group

called Mythos. I'll see about getting you a copy of the song."

"No need. I already have it," she said, smiling.

Russ nodded. "Okay then, lets get started."

Finally, after another long day of play, the sky finally began to

darken once more, signaling the drawing close of the Startica Festival.

Everybody was happy and contented, and had greatly enjoyed themselves

over the last couple of days. There were no major catastrophes aside from

the one Russ averted, so the GP had it easy this year. They were in the

process of patrolling around the planet, checking to make sure all the ships

that were departing could get out of their confined spaces. Fortunately, all

the vessels that parked around the Gray Wolf had departed, so it would be

easy for Tom and company to leave the planet.

Back inside the palace throne room, Asuza sat with both his wives,

flanked on either side by Azaka and Kamidake, awaiting the last and final

arrival from the group who had spent their vacation on Jurai. He was

scowling, and had other ideas for both his daughters. However, he kept it to

himself, and didn't let either of his wives know about it. It was high time

Aeka grasped the duty of being the Crown Princess of Jurai, rather than

living with the lowly commoners on a backwater planet such as Earth. He

didn't bother dealing with Yosho, since he had made up his mind a long

time ago, and he knew that Yosho would stick to it. He was too old to be

talked to.

He still recalled the day Yosho left Jurai to hunt the Space Pirate

Ryoko. After immense destruction and terror struck into the hearts of the

Jurai people, Yosho took it upon himself to leave the planet and chase

Ryoko until he either captured or killed her. And for some reason, Asuza

knew that he wouldn't return when he departed. Nothing was ever said

about it, but it was a gut feeling, and he left it at that. Funaho was really

depressed after he left, but she did a remarkable job of hiding it and

continuing on with her life. Aeka should take her as an example and buckle

down, and accept her duty as the Princess of Jurai. He'd make sure of that

this time.

The King of Jurai lost his train of thought when the throne room

doors swung open, revealing the entire group of Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka,

Sasami, Washu, Kiyone, Mihoshi, the log Azaka and Kamidake, Ryo-Ohki,

Nobuyuki, Yosho, and lastly, Russ. They all made their way down the

long, red carpet, and their footsteps echoed around the massive room until

they came to a stop in front of the King.

"We're ready to head back home now, Father," Aeka said, bowing

her head. "I hope you and mother will be well once we're gone. We had a

very nice visit, and we'd like to come back next year."

"Aeka!" he began, in his commanding tone. "I want you to remain

here. You've been shirking your duties as the Jurian Princess for long

enough! Just how much longer do you plan on ignoring your obligation?"

"I am not ready to be the princess. I do not want to be the

princess! I've enjoyed my life back on Earth, and if I could, I'd live that

life forever!" she shot back, glaring hard at her father.

"Enough! The finance I have chosen for you is still here, waiting

for you," he said, gesturing to a set of curtains.

Everybody turned to stare in the direction the king pointed to, and

when the curtains pulled back, Aeka shuddered, and everybody else just

stared in amazement.

That pink haired retard stepped out from behind the curtain, his fan

in his right hand, and that insufferable laugh of his rang in her ears.

"I take it you remember who I am, Princess? I must say that you

look stunning this evening."

"Serio! I thought Tenchi vanquished you! How can you be

alive?!" Aeka demanded.

Serio smirked. "That boy could never have defeated me, if it

weren't for that tidal wave knocking me off of that platform. But now I

have another chance, since Tenchi is now occupied with someone else,"

he said, glaring at the two.

"How dare you!" Aeka shouted.

Again, he laughed arrogantly. "Do you really want to go back to

that hellhole, instead of remaining here with me? I've got so many ships to

offer Jurai, and I can offer you, my darling, even more."

Aeka's eyes went wide and she shuddered violently. "You will do

no such thing! My heart is with someone else entirely, even though he

hasn't returned it yet."

Russ's face immediately went several shades of crimson, and he

swallowed a growing lump in his throat, loudly.

Asuza arose from his chair and glared down at his disobedient

daughter. "The challenge will remain the same. You can have your wish,

if, and ONLY if, that barbarian can defeat Serio in a duel!"

Letting out a breath, she smiled, but a cold, evil, heartless smile. "I

don't think that will be a problem this time, Father."

Aeka turned around and made her way over to Russ, who looked at

her curiously. She stopped in front of him, grasped his hand, and looked

into his eyes, while her own eyes begged, pleaded, for him to help her. Her

face looked desperate, and he knew what she wanted.

"I take it you want me to fight him, Aeka?" Russ asked, looking

into her saddened face.

"Please. This is the only way I can remain with Tenchi, you, and

his family. I don't want to be anywhere else. I know you do not want to

return any kind of love, at least, not yet, but please help me," she said,

unable to say those three little words. "And you did promise me that you'd

help me."

Funaho and Misaki both looked at each other, and then nodded

their heads. "If Russ defeats Serio, then you may go home with them."

Serio laughed again. "That is what I have to fight this time? He

looks even more of a pushover than Tenchi was. At least Tenchi has a

higher level of energy than he does."

Russ's fists clenched as he fought to keep his power level from

going up, as he was trying to keep it that of a normal human. Looking back

down at Aeka, he nodded his head.

"Okay. I'll fight him, since it is your ticket home," Russ said, and

then smiled.

"Humph. This is going to be quite easy. He hardly has any power

to speak of," Serio said, stepping off of the platform and onto the floor,

standing about fifteen feet away from Russ, directly in front of the King.

Everybody else quickly stepped off to the side, giving them plenty of room.

Serio looked into Russ's eyes and offered him the same offer he

made Tenchi. "Do you wish to concede? That would be a wise decision,

even for a stupid idiot like you," he laughed. "But if you fight, I'll make it

easy on you. I won't use my maximum power. But you're most likely to

be killed anyway."

Russ smirked, as he used his senses to judge his opponents power

level. Keeping his poker face on, he didn't give away what he thought.

"You may begin when ready," Russ invited, not taking up any

stance at all.

"You're dumber than you look," Serio insulted once more.

"Prepare yourself."

Russ just stared at him, waiting for him to make a move. He

waited for nearly a minute, and he finally lost his patience. He began

tapping his foot impatiently, and then he placed his hands on his hips. As if

to prove his point further, he forced a yawn and then folded his arms over

his chest.

"This is rather boring," Russ muttered, looking at Serio's pink hair.

"Why haven't you made a move? And where in the world did you come up

with that cotton candy hairdo anyway?"

Serio looked at him in horror. "What!? Don't you dare insult me,

you ignoramus." He clenched his fists and began to power up. His body

began to glow red, but there was nothing much more than that. After nearly

a minute, he finished, and a brilliant orange sword came into existence in

his right hand. Looking at Russ, he smirked.

"Afraid of what you see?"

Russ shook his head. "No. But I've got a deal for you. If I can

power up higher than you, will you concede and walk away?"

Serio looked at him in surprise, and then started laughing. "You

power up more than me? You've lost your mind."

Russ continued to give him the poker face. "Well? Do you

agree?"

Serio extinguished his sword and waved his hand carelessly.

"Sure. But I know I have this match won already. I'm not even at my full

power."

"Then power up to your maximum. Let's see what you're made

of."

Serio glared at him, then did as he was told. Again, red energy

outlined his body as he continued to raise his ki higher and higher.

Everybody could hear him grunt and strain, as the glow became more

intense. A light breeze came from him, and a very slight shaking of the

room could be felt. Everybody who could sense a power level was

watching Serio, curious as to how high he could go.

It took him nearly three minutes, but when he was done, the glow

around his body was enough to change the lighting of the room to a reddish

color, and a strong breeze came from him. The king grinned triumphantly,

figuring that he had won. But of course, Russ had yet to show anything of

his own.

"Ahhh, lets see if you can match this," Serio challenged.

Russ looked at him and judged his power. "Impressive. I'd say

you're at about four thousand. Not too shabby."

Serio glared at him. "Power up, you moron. Lets see if you can

put up or shut up."

Russ shook his head. "I can't even compliment you without you

taking offense to it. Sheesh."

"Stuff it, already. Power up and quit stalling," the king demanded.

Russ glared at him, and clenched his fist. "I hope this building can

withstand a heavy earthquake," he said, spreading his feet.

Asuza looked at him curiously, but maintained his glare. Misaki

and Funaho looked at each other worriedly, and slowly began to back up.

"You wanted to see me power up. Don't run away now, your

highness," Russ called, noticing Misaki continuing to back off. She

regarded him with a look of surprise, but she sat down on her throne, next to

her husband. "Azaka, Kamidake? Shield them as best you can."

The two knights looked at each other, their foreheads beading in

perspiration. Now they'd see what they were originally up against in that

training room, and they'd see how much he was really holding back.

Taking in a breath through his teeth and letting it out in a primal

howl, Russ began to prep himself for a massive power surge. Tensing every

muscle in his body, and taking in another deep breath, his voice continued

to echo around the hall, and everybody watched him. Aeka had a slight grin

on her face, knowing what he was about to do, and how he was going to

blow the socks off her father and that arrogant fop, Serio.

A huge, green fireball exploded around Russ's body, enshrouding

him in flames, and blowing every single bystander off of their feet. The

wind from his energy was enough to knock paintings off of walls and cause

everyone to shield his or her face from the hurricane of dirt and other

objects that began flying around the room. The floor under Russ cracked

and shattered, causing several chunks of the marble tile to hover in the air

and break apart, swirling and mixing in with the other debris. He looked

exactly like Vegeta did when the prince powered up to fight Recoome.

Then, the earthquake began. It started only slightly at first, but it

continued to intensify, until the floor shook with such ferocity that nobody

could keep his or her footing. But Russ didn't stop, despite hearing several

people scream in panic. He continued to grunt and strain, pushing his

energy level to its maximum.

The king watched Russ through his arms, wondering what kind of

freakish person he really was, being able to generate this astronomical

amount of power. It was unbelievable. Never, ever, had he expected any

one individual to generate enough power to surpass himself, let alone the

entire Jurai fleet combined. This man made his own energy seem

insignificant, and he was the most powerful man on Jurai.

The king knew he was the most powerful being on the planet.

Azaka and Kamidake both knew it too. He didn't need any kind of

protection, because nobody was powerful enough to challenge him.

However, this man shattered every single expectation that they ever had.

And he wasn't even warmed up yet.

Misaki kept her face shielded, and she finally had her question

answered. He was overwhelmingly powerful. He went way beyond her

expectations, and now she knew why he kept it hidden. It was frightening

to be in the presence of such energy. He kept it low to be treated normally,

but he could call on his power whenever he needed it, like now.

Azaka and Kamidake did their very best to shield the king and

queens, but even they could barely stand up against a force as intense as

this. Their forcefield continued to fizzle, and they were able to block only

less than half of the junk flying around the room. They both grunted and

strained, and as they could sense his energy keep rising, they began to

wonder when he'd stop.

After only thirty seconds of powering up, Russ shifted himself into

high gear, and doubled his rate of energizing himself, causing a massive

shockwave which peeled away more of the floor and began to bring the

palace down around him. Bits of the ceiling began to break apart, the flying

debris had destroyed the finish of the wood pillars, and the walls were being

pelted with the marble chips that continued to swirl around Russ.

The roar of his energy was deafening, and they could barely hear

themselves scream. However, they could hear Russ perfectly clear, as he

yelled at the top of his voice, straining to take his ki to new heights.

Moments later, which felt like hours to the bystanders, the shaking

subsided, the wind died down, but all the debris remained floating in mid-

air. The roar of energy was still present, albeit much more quiet, and

everybody was finally able to uncover his or her faces.

The entire throne room was blanketed in an eerie green glow,

generated by the man who stood directly in the middle of it, his energy still

burning brightly around him. Marble and wood chunks still floated lazily

around Russ, held up by some unseen force.

His face was frightening. His hair was swirling around and

standing up, his clothes flapped in the wind of his energy, and his face

spoke words that didn't need to be said. Everybody just sat and stared,

except for Aeka.

The palace doors swung open and the throne room became flooded

with Jurian guards, who immediately stopped and stared at the spectacle in

the middle of the place. They had their weapons at the ready, but they knew

just by looking at him that they didn't stand a chance, but they were willing

to die for the king anyway, to protect him and to serve him.

Carefully, slowly, Aeka made her way around the debris, and

slowly approached Russ, who turned his head toward her, and nodded

casually, a slight grin presenting itself. He nodded his head forward,

indicating to her to have a look at something.

Turning to what he found so interesting, she couldn't help but

smile. Serio was planted into the stairs leading up to Asuza's throne. His

body made a perfect imprint of himself in the steps, and they could see him

lying there, his eyes looking like corkscrews as he moaned

incomprehensible phrases.

"Looks like I win," Russ said, letting out a deep breath and

allowing himself to relax. His green ki vanished and all the debris fell to

the ground with a loud clatter, sounding like a heavy rain for about two

seconds.

Slowly, everybody returned to his or her feet, but everybody

continued to stare at the Saiyan in absolute astonishment. King Asuza

looked at him in complete horror, and for the first time in his life, his face

expressed fear. He looked at the Saiyan as if he were a god, and not some

lowly commoner anymore. He realized that he made some major mistakes

with him. It was good for his sake that Russ had fair control over his

temperament or he could've been killed easily, and nobody could've

stopped him. Not even Tsunami or the lighthawk wings.

Misaki and Funaho both looked at him in amazement, and they

were unable to think of anything to say. They could sense his energy level

and they almost couldn't believe that it was real. It was scary being in the

presence of such power.

"I think that I should have you know, that what I just did was only

my base power level. That means I wasn't using any energy enhancements.

To be perfectly clear, I can go much higher than what you just felt," he said

coolly, staring into the Emperor's eyes. "And I'm stronger than I was two

weeks ago, when I first met the family."

"That's impossible," he whispered. "He's just too impossible."

Russ heard him. "I assure you, it is very possible. I can destroy

this planet and the ENTIRE solar system with the power I possess. But I'm

not going to do that," Russ told him, continuing to glare into Asuza's eyes.

"I think it's time I give you a little advice, and you better listen to it. Never

judge a book by its cover. You misjudged me, big time, and it came to bite

you in the rear, in the end. Look at this room." Russ waved his arm around

the place, which was utterly destroyed. The floor was cratered around

Russ's feet, which completely ruined the marble flooring. The walls were

trashed, and every single painting and ornamental item that had been on

those walls was obliterated. The wooden pillars were nearly destroyed, and

some of them looked like Swiss cheese, as a result of the flying debris

passing right through the wood like putty. The ceiling had massive chunks

fall out of it, leaving gaping holes throughout it. All the remaining pieces

of debris were scattered throughout the room.

The king looked at his once beautiful room and shuddered. He'd

have to condemn the room until it was repaired, but that was insignificant in

comparison to what could've been done. Looking back into Russ's eyes, he

couldn't find any emotion left in them, and it scared the daylights out of

him.

"This room was destroyed simply by me powering up. What do

you think would've happened if I focused an attack on you? To put it

simply, you would've been annihilated. Oh, and one other bit of advice.

Show more respect to those who are your subjects. You were extremely

disrespectful to me when we first met. I wanted to kick your butt since the

day I met you because you're arrogant, insulting, and in my opinion, a

person who is unworthy of remaining the King of Jurai."

Again, the king looked at him with a mixture of surprise and

horror. "How dare"

"Shut up," Russ interrupted him. "This is exactly what I'm talking

about. You need a serious attitude adjustment. You could take quite an

example from both of your wives, since they are far more respectful than

you will probably ever be."

Funaho and Misaki looked at him in surprise and they both

realized that he was probably right. They'd have to console the king and

find a way to make him more respectable, and a nicer man. Perhaps if he

were in the presence of Russ more often...

"I'm sorry about destroying the room," Russ stated flatly. "I hope

you get it fixed up sooner or later. But anyway, it's time for us to leave. I

appreciate all the hospitality that you extended to everybody and myself."

Russ gave a slight bow, and stood up straight, relaxing himself and allowing

his power level to fall to that of a normal human once more.

Everybody else dusted their clothes off and stood next to the

saiyan, and also bowed.

"I'll see you next year, Mother and Father," Aeka said, standing

next to Russ, bowing her head. "I hope you will be well this coming year."

Misaki and Funaho both made their way down to the floor, being

careful to sidestep Serio, who was still out cold. They made their way over

to the group and they began to say their goodbyes, exchanging hugs and

kisses to everybody.

Carefully, stealthily, Russ slipped out of the throne room, being

careful to shut the door behind him. However, someone did notice him.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye, Russ?"

Stopping in his tracks, he slowly turned and faced Misaki, who

frowned at him. "I'm sorry, but I've never been good at goodbyes," he

answered.

"Now is as good as time as any to start." Slowly moving over to

Russ, she placed her arms around him and gave him a warm, caring

squeeze. "It was nice meeting you, Russ. I hope you come back next year."

Russ stood flabbergasted and he scratched the back of his head, but

smiled warmly. "Thank you for having me. It was nice meeting you."

"You were right about your power," she said, drawing a curious

look from Russ. "You ARE godlike with that kind of energy. I don't know

how you hide it, but I'm glad you're using it to protect Aeka and her

family."

"That's what I'm here for."

Misaki smiled. "Take care of Aeka, Russ. I'll be counting on it."

Russ blushed, but nodded his head. "Yes, your highness. I shall

do my best."

Misaki hugged Russ once more, giving him a gentle squeeze.

However, the sound of another pair of footsteps stomping on the ground

became present a second later.

"What are you doing, Mother?!?!"

Turning around, the Empress smiled. "No need to get jealous!"

She released Russ and grabbed her daughter in a hug. "I was just saying

goodbye."

Russ became several shades of red and had a huge sweat drop on

his head. Aeka looked surprised, and then she relaxed, shaking her head.

"Well, it's time to go," Russ said, noting everybody else exiting

the condemned throne room. They all made their way over to Russ, and the

entire entourage made their way out of the palace to the landing pad, where

an assault transport was already waiting for them. Tom stepped out onto

the ramp and waved his hand.

"Well, did everybody have a good time?" he asked, as Russ

approached.

"Sure did. Are we ready to get underway?"

"Yeah. All your bags and belongings have been loaded already, so

we're set to go. And Russ," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"What did you do? I've heard a lot of bystanders talking about an

earthquake. Did you power up or something?"

Russ gave him a grin that told him exactly what he needed to

know. Tom grinned in amusement.

"Well, everybody, hop onboard and we'll get ourselves out of

here," Russ said, gesturing to the ramp way, and everybody made their way

into the hold of the ship. Misaki and Funaho both remained at the edge of

the landing pad, waving their hands and having tears in their eyes.

"Bye everyone!" Misaki yelled as the door sealed itself.

Russ turned and waved one last time, as he climbed into his fighter

and started it up. Sealing the hatch behind him, he sat in the leather seat

and sighed deeply.

The roar of the ATR became extremely loud as a lot of dust and

dirt came out from under it, and it slowly lifted itself off into the air. Russ's

Tie Defender lifted off as well, the landing gear retracting back into the

body of the fighter, and he moved forward, flying over the heads of both the

empresses, and then swinging around to follow the ATR, which had already

begun its accent.

Remaining on the pad, the mother of Aeka and Sasami, and the

mother of Yosho both continued to wave, until both ships vanished from

sight. They looked at each other and smiled.

"We're going to have to go visit them sometime soon, since they

came to visit us," Funaho said, wiping away a tear.

"I think that's a great idea. But, how will we get there? It would

require almost a month of vacation time to go."

Funaho thought a moment, then nodded her head. "I think it would

be worth it, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes indeed," Misaki responded, clasping her hands

together.

Turning back toward the palace, both the empresses of Jurai made

their way to the air traffic control room, and they sat down at one of the

available terminals, drawing a bunch of curious and worried looks from the

various staff members. It wasn't often that they had the opportunity to even

see the rulers of the planet, let alone be in the same room with them. They

watched them punch a few keys, and they brought up an image of the Star

Destroyer in orbit. They zoomed in on it, and they watched both the ATR

and Russ's fighter both enter the hanger bay of the massive warship.

"That thing is huge, sis. This is the first time I've seen it," Misaki

whispered.

"Me too. What kind of ship is that?"

Thinking a moment, her eyes lit up. "Russ had said that the ship

was based off of a movie called Starwars, back on Earth. I think it's called

a Star Destroyer."

Again, several other staff members chuckled, thinking that was a

ridiculous name for a ship class.

"We're going to have to find a copy of that movie and see it for

ourselves," Funaho declared. But she silenced herself when the massive

warship began to turn and move away from the planet. "Well, it looks like

they're getting underway."

They both watched the huge ISD move a little distance away from

the planet, which happened to be the end of the planetary system, and it

stopped in place for a few moments. Several GP vessels began to approach

the ship, thinking that something had gone wrong. However, a moment

later, a bright flash from its engines and a streak of light later, the ship raced

out of the star system in less than a second, and then it vanished from sight

as it entered hyperspace.

Both Misaki and Funaho looked at their screen, which was trying

to track the ship, but it was gone.

"That thing must be going so fast that our sensors can't detect it,"

Misaki said, punching a few more keys on the console.

"They did say that it can get from here to Earth in about twelve

hours. I'd say that's moving pretty darn fast. I don't even think the

checkpoint even realized that a ship had flown right through it with them

moving at that rate of speed."

Misaki nodded. "Well, lets go back to the throne room. We

should help with the cleanup."

"Right as always. We've got our work cut out for us this time."

Both empresses laughed as they left the terminal and made their

way back to the great hall.

Onboard the Star Destroyer, the first thing Russ did was head off

to his quarters and went to sleep, even before he fell over and hit the bed.

Aeka and Sasami watched him crash-land onto the mattress, and they both

giggled.

"He completely wears himself out every single day. I don't know

how he handles himself like that," Aeka whispered.

"I know. He's so strong though."

Aeka nodded, undressing herself, preparing to get into her

nightgown. "But, he does have the right idea. We may as well go to sleep

and be rested for when we get back home. There isn't a whole lot to do

onboard a starship."

"There are plenty of things to do on this ship though. But I am

tired. We'll probably still have a few hours to do stuff when we wake up,

since I doubt we could sleep twelve hours."

"I know Russ can," Aeka giggled.

Sasami smiled. "I can always order a can of whipped cream from

the replicator," she cackled evilly.

"Sasami! You promised that you wouldn't pull any pranks on each

other during this trip, and I expect you to hold to it." Aeka glared down at

her sister, as she wrapped her gown over her slender body and tightened the

obi. "Besides, if you do, he'll probably go berserk, and I won't stop him

either," she added.

Sasami looked worried for a moment, but she nodded her head.

"Yeah, you're probably right. I'd probably wake up on the hull of the ship

or something, knowing what kind of pranks he likes to play."

Both Aeka and Sasami tossed back the covers to their futons, and

they both lay down, pulling the comforter up to their necks. They both let

out a yawn at the exact same time and stretched themselves, allowing their

bodies to relax for a nice and restful slumber.

"Aeka?"

"Yes?"

"Are you still upset over what father tried to do today?" Sasami

asked, worried for her sister.

Aeka looked at the gray ceiling and sighed, closing her eyes slowly

and re-opening them. "I just don't understand why father feels he must

interfere in these things. All he ever manages to do is make me upset, and

make everybody else around him upset too."

Sasami rolled over onto her side, so she could see her sister.

"Well, you know what mom thinks, right?"

Aeka shook her head. "No. Actually I'm not sure what she thinks

about the whole thing. I know she got upset with father, but he continually

tried to prove a point. I know that I've been lax in my duties as the first

princess, but why must he force me to chose someone that would benefit the

empire, but make me miserable?" Sighing deeply, she continued. "But

anyway, you're a little young to understand such things. Not yet, anyway."

Sasami grunted, her face becoming cross. "I may be little, but I do

understand some of it. But what you don't know is how much mother really

wants to see you and Russ get together. She knows the relationship

between you and Tenchi has been resolved to friendship, and she knows

that Russ is completely available, and is the same age as you. Mother

doesn't care about what father thinks. She wants you to be happy, and

that's all that matters to her."

Aeka let out a tiny gasp, and then rolled onto her side, facing the

little princess. "Are you sure, Sasami? Did mother tell you this?"

"Yes. She wants to see you happy more than anything, and so do

I. I really like Russ. He's like a big brother to me. He's always sweet and

kind, and a little mischievous like me," Sasami giggled. "But he's stubborn

too. But anyway, I'm glad he's staying with us. That makes me very

happy."

"Me too, Sasami. He's so much like Tenchi, but a lot more easy-

going. Tenchi was always uptight and very strict, and at times, quick to

anger. He always got mad at Ryoko and myself whenever we'd get into a

fight, whether it be over him or not. Russ, on the other hand, seems to take

it in stride, as a way of life. He just minds his own business. I think I like

that about him more than the strictness with Tenchi."

"I see you noticed that too. Tenchi hardly ever had time to do

things with me or anybody else, since he was always busy doing chores

around the house. Russ has actually taken time out of his training when he

saw me playing by myself to play a game with me," Sasami described,

remembering a game of catch that was played about a week ago.

"You're right. Tenchi really hadn't done much of anything with

us, in terms of enjoying ourselves and having fun. For the most part, he

only got involved when one of us was in trouble. He'd always come to

rescue us," Aeka sighed, remembering how he risked his life to save her

from the Kagato that impersonated Yosho. "But Russ would do the same

thing, wouldn't he?"

Sasami smiled. "He already is. He's here to protect us."

Aeka thought a moment and smiled. "You're right. He is here to

save all of us, isn't he?"

Nodding her head, Sasami yawned and stretched herself under her

blanket. "He also comforted me when I had that bad dream back on Jurai."

"That's right! You never told me what it was about, did you?"

Aeka asked, becoming concerned.

"No. It was really scary, and I don't know why I dreamt it. It was

about Kain," Sasami said, her voice almost a whisper.

Looking at her sister in surprise, she reached out from under her

blanket, took Sasami's hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It was only a

dream. Kain is dead. We killed him, remember? We used Washu's

Dimensional Cannon and blew him away," Aeka said quietly. "He won't

ever bother us again."

"Yeah, you're right, but it was still creepy. Russ woke up and

made me feel a lot better. I'm glad he was there with me when I had that

dream."

Aeka smiled. "I'm glad too, Sasami," she said, rolling onto her

back once more, getting herself more comfortable. "Let's get some sleep."

"Yeah. Goodnight, Aeka. I love you."

"I love you too, Sasami. Goodnight."

"Come on, Ryoko! Don't you ever give up?"

"But Tenchiiiiii!!"

"You're being ridiculous, now cut it out, okay? I'm too tired to do

that again."

"You're such a spoiled sport!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am NOT!"

"Yes you are. You don't want to, because you know you'll lose."

"Ryoko, we've played five games already. Give it up! You'll

never defeat me at chess."

Both Tenchi and Ryoko were hunched over a traditional

chessboard, with Tenchi's black army giving Ryoko's white pieces a good

trouncing. Ryoko's defensive line lay in ruins, and nearly all of her pieces

were sitting off to the side, having been taken by Tenchi. Only about a

quarter of Tenchi's pieces sat on Ryoko's side of the board that she had

captured, and they were all pawns. Her king was completely surrounded,

and Ryoko knew that she had lost.

Ryoko continued to pout, folding her arms over her chest and

turning away, an extremely peeved look on her face.

"You must cheat or something. There's no way you could've

beaten me this many times without losing once without cheating!" she

muttered, still not looking at Tenchi.

Tenchi shook his head and rested his elbow on the table, and rested

his chin in his palm. "Grandpa is a good teacher. And I don't cheat. You

would've saw me do it if I had."

"Humph!"

"Now who is being a spoiled sport?"

Ryoko turned her nose up at him and repeated her discontentment.

"Come on, Ryoko. We should get some rest. We had a long day

today, didn't we?"

"I'm not talking to you."

Tenchi facefaulted. "Aw, give me a break, Ryoko! If you're

going to be like this, we won't play anymore."

"Fine! See if I care!" she quipped, phasing out of existence and

reappearing some distance away in her evening attire. Or rather, lack

thereof.

Tenchi's eyes bulged a moment and a trickle of blood appeared at

the edge of his nostril as he turned away. Ryoko frowned at him.

"Don't tell me you're still embarrassed of me, Tenchi."

"It's not that. I'm just still not used to seeing you naked. I wish

you wouldn't do that."

"We're born naked, Tenchi. And we're naked under the covers

too. What does it matter anyway? It's just you and me."

Tenchi scratched his head and thought hard, trying to come up with

a reasonable answer to her question without provoking her further.

However, fatigue mixed with a racing heart did wonders for ruining his

concentration, and only one thought came to mind.

Standing up slowly and turning toward Ryoko, he casually made

his way across the room, until he stood directly in front of the space pirate.

She looked at him curiously, but she was swept off of her feet as Tenchi

lifted her into the air and cradled her in his arms, a warm, caring, loving

smile on his lips.

"This isn't quite the answer I was looking for, Tenchi."

"Would you"

Ryoko silenced him by pressing her lips to his, wrapping her arms

around his broad shoulders, squeezing him tightly. "But I like it."

"Would you like to you know head off to bed now?"

Ryoko smiled widely and she nodded her head. "Anytime, Tenchi.

Whether it is day or night. I'm always here for you."

Carrying his beloved to the bedroom, they both slid under the

covers, continuing to hold each other close. And, of course, getting ready to

do this and that kind of thing.

Ryoko turned out the light with the flick of her wrist, and the

sounds of sensual pleasure muffled by the comforter were the only sounds

in the room for the night.

Some eight hours later, Russ had woken up in a very cramped and

awkward position, as he had fallen out of bed sometime while he was

asleep. One of his legs had somehow gotten caught around the bedpost, and

it remained in mid-air throughout most of the night. It was ice cold and

Russ knew that when the blood started flowing again that he was going to

have that creepy feeling all over his leg, and he hated that kind of thing.

Quickly jumping in the sonic shower, he shed his clothes and

generated a fresh and clean karate gi, this time coloring it a steel gray. He

turned and left his room, noting Aeka and Sasami still asleep on his floor.

Cautiously, he exited his room and made his way down the corridor to the

lift, where he stepped inside.

"Holodeck one."

The lift quickly sped down its track to his requested level, and it

came to a stop a few short moments later. He made his way down the

hallway to the holodeck, and he discovered that it was already occupied.

Keying a few commands on a nearby console, he identified that the

occupants were, surprisingly, Tenchi and Katsuhito. He keyed another

command, which opened a comlink with the interior of the room.

"Hey guys, it's me. Mind if I come in?"

"Sure," Katsuhito answered.

The large double doors divided themselves and slid back into the

wall with a hiss, revealing a large clearing, covered in grass and surrounded

by trees, in much the same scenario as the training grounds back at the

Masaki home.

"What are you guys up to?" he asked, as the doors closed behind

him and disappeared.

"We're training again. Grandpa insists that I do some catching up,

since I haven't practiced for a few days," Tenchi responded, nursing a lump

on his head.

Russ grinned. "I hear that. I know what it's like to become rusty

after not training. But anyway, mind if I watch?"

"Hey Russ, why don't you train with Tenchi here for a little while?

I'd like to see how he fairs against you," Katsuhito invited, lowering his

bokken.

Tenchi regarded him with a look of stunned horror. "Grandpa!

You know I can't even touch him!"

"Better for practice! If you face someone who is superior to

yourself, a lot of times you will progress a lot faster," Katsuhito instructed,

tossing Russ the wooden sword.

Russ caught it easily and grinned, swinging it a couple of times to

get the feel of it. "Don't worry, I won't be as rough as your grandpa is,"

Russ grinned evilly, taking up a defensive stance, looking like a samurai

warrior.

Tenchi mumbled his discontentment as he hefted his own weapon

and taking up the stance Katsuhito had shown him many times before. It

was the most effective position for defending against an unknown attack,

since it left almost no part of the body venerable.

Russ watched him curiously, and out of nowhere, he released his

stance. He stood up straight and looked off to the side somewhere.

"I think we need a bit of music to spice things up a bit. Computer,

play Spybreak Short One from The Matrix."

A courtesy beep and a slight pause later, the music began. Russ

grinned as he took up a new stance, but drawing a very weird look from

both Katsuhito and Tenchi. The music was quite loud, and the two

opponents would have to shout at each other in order to hear each other.

"Go!" Russ yelled, charging Tenchi and swinging the bokken in a

wide arc, aiming for Tenchi's neck.

He saw it coming and he ducked, and swung his own sword in an

upward stroke, missing Russ by a few inches. Russ countered by spinning

around and swinging the sword in the same spot once more, keeping time

with the music.

This time Tenchi blocked the stroke, and took a swipe at Russ's

chest, missing once again and countering a third blow aimed at his neck.

However, Russ didn't stop, and he kept up a smooth, steady offense, going

with the flow of motion and music, swinging toward Tenchi's neck for a

fourth time. By this time, Tenchi was expecting it and he ducked, and then

thrust his bokken toward Russ's leg. However, he missed again as Russ

casually spun with the blow, and once again brought his sword down in a

smooth sweep, and he cracked Tenchi in the back of the neck, causing him

to fall over with his face in the dirt.

Tenchi quickly looked up at Russ, who was bringing his sword

down for the finishing blow, but Tenchi rolled out of the way as the sword

impacted the ground. He regained his footing quickly and began another

offense, swinging his sword toward Russ's own neck, which missed as the

saiyan ducked and thrust his own sword toward Tenchi's chest, which again

impacted, knocking him back a few feet.

Sprinting forward a few steps to catch up to Tenchi, Russ speedily

swung his sword at his opponent's leg, smacking it hard and leaving a large

welt, and he quickly withdrew the sword, and swung it again at Tenchi's

other leg, missing it as Tenchi did a backflip to get away from the persistent

saiyan.

Mounting his own offense, Tenchi quickly took a jab at Russ's

chest, but Russ rolled with the blow and whacked Tenchi in the ribs with his

own bokken. However, Tenchi closed his arm around the sword, but Russ

was quick to push him off of it, and resume his intense attack.

Beginning an all new offense, Russ began to swing the sword all

over his body, taking jabs and swiping the sword at various parts of

Tenchi's body, most of which connected, leaving bruises and welts

wherever the sword smacked him. He made an overhead swing, which was

blocked, but he continued the flow of motion and spun around, swinging the

sword at Tenchi's ribs again, which connected, making Tenchi howl in

pain. However, Russ did not stop, and he continued his flow of motion,

spinning around again and making his sword impact into Tenchi's leg,

knocking him over. Still not finished with his attack, he changed his handle

on the sword, now handling it like a knife, and he drove it straight toward

Tenchi's head, which narrowly missed as it impacted the ground.

Tenchi rolled away and sprung back to his feet, trying to nurse the

fresh injuries and mount an offense against a whirlwind style maneuver by

Russ. Blocking nearly every blow that came near him, he desperately tried

to find an opening in Russ's offense, but he was moving in such an irregular

pattern that it was impossible to tell what he was going to do next. It was so

much easier fighting his grandpa, where he'd do the same moves over and

over again, even though most of the time he couldn't block them because of

his grandfather's superior strength.

Katsuhito watched in amusement, as it looked like more of a dance

than a fight from Russ's perspective. He watched how Russ countered

nearly every move Tenchi made, which was quite impressive, since Russ

wasn't using any of his energy to enhance his speed. Russ watched

Tenchi's face and Katsuhito realized that he was able to read what Tenchi

was about to do, just by the motion of his eyes or a change in a facial

expression. It was quite interesting to watch.

Tenchi, on the other hand, was watching Russ's arms and legs, and

not paying any attention to his face, or what he could possibly be thinking.

His defense was very sloppy, even sloppier than when he spars with

himself. Of course, Russ was performing moves that he had never done

himself, and that made it far more difficult to fight against. He realized that

he was going to have to show Tenchi some new techniques to improve his

fighting ability.

Tenchi once again took a swipe at Russ's leg, which was blocked

with a smooth, flowing stroke from his opponents own weapon. However,

he stumbled backwards a few more feet when Russ's right hand planted

itself square on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Hey, I thought we were only using weapons!" he shouted, gasping

for air.

"My hand IS a weapon!" Russ shouted back, continuing his fluid

offense and taking a quick jab with the sword at Tenchi's face.

Moving to the side quickly, he swung his sword down at Russ's

leg. "It's not a bokken! You're supposed to fight with the sword only!"

Russ lifted his leg over Tenchi's weapon, and he spun around,

sweeping his leg against Tenchi's, tripping him. "Your whole body is a

weapon! Use it!"

Tenchi quickly sprung back to his feet, blocking an overhead strike

from Russ, doing his best to win a quick test of strength. Russ didn't

waver, but he released his weapon, allowing it to fly back toward Katsuhito,

who was still sitting on a boulder.

Grinning, Tenchi took up an offensive posture, set to attack.

"Ready to give up?"

Russ looked at him in amusement and shook his head. "I can fight

without a weapon," he stated, placing both of his hands in front of him and

preparing for a fight.

Tenchi looked mildly impressed, and he began by swinging his

sword at Russ's arm, but he again missed as the saiyan leaned back a bit,

letting the blade whip by him. However, he was unable to counter a quick

sprint forward by Russ and a punch to his chest, which again sent him to the

ground, gasping for air.

He lay on the ground for a moment, stunned, until he saw Russ

leap over him, preparing to drive his knee into his chest. Rolling out of the

way, Russ impacted the ground and he leapt back to his feet, ready to

continue.

Tenchi made a swipe at Russ's leg, but he again moved just out of

reach of the sword, and he again sprinted forward, closing the distance

between Russ and himself. Sidestepping a fist that was aimed for his head,

Tenchi made a move to hit Russ in the head with the bottom of his sword,

but he missed, as Russ ducked out of the way just in the nick of time.

However, he didn't see the uppercut coming, and he was sent flying back

several feet, flat on his back.

Russ leapt into the air, trying to plant an elbow into Tenchi's chest,

but he missed when Tenchi just barely rolled out of the way, and he

impacted the ground with a heavy thud. Springing back to his feet, he spun

around and brought his foot up to Tenchi's head, trying to roundhouse him,

but he narrowly missed. However, he continued to spin, and this time made

an attempt at a leg sweep, which caught Tenchi off guard, and he again fell

over onto his back.

Tenchi quickly returned to his feet, as he knew that lying on the

ground was the absolute worst place to be in the middle of a fight. Holding

his sword steadily and shaking with the adrenaline rush of battle, he charged

at Russ who had just completed his spin and returned to his feet, and he put

all of his strength into a thrust for Russ's stomach. However, he missed, as

Russ had simply moved to the side, watching him go flying from the

momentum of the blow, and he again fell onto the ground.

Once again, Tenchi sprung to his feet, angry determination on his

face, and a blank poker face on Russ's. Swinging the sword in an overhead

stroke, he missed once again as Russ quickly moved to the side, but he had

the wind knocked out of him when Russ's knee smashed into his gut,

causing him to double over. He was sent to the ground once again from a

double axe-handle planted on his back.

Slowly, Tenchi returned to his feet. His clothes were tattered and

dirty, and so was Tenchi. He was breathing heavily and sweating profusely,

as he once again hefted his sword, preparing for an attack by Russ. It was

time to play the defensive game and wait for Russ to make a mistake.

"Go faster, Tenchi. You're much faster than this," Russ said,

beginning a slow flurry of punches, most of which were hitting Tenchi on

all parts of his body. He didn't hit hard, but hard enough to leave a small

bruise.

Tenchi quickly jumped back, but Russ had leapt forward, and he

resumed his punching frenzy. However, this time, Russ hit him

considerably less, as Tenchi was dodging at an increased rate of speed.

"Excellent! Go faster, Tenchi! Use your energy! You're still

faster than this!" Russ yelled, now adding kicks to his punches, and

increasing his own speed a very slight amount.

Tenchi continued to dodge, moving his body faster than he had

ever done before, and amazingly, he could feel his energy enhancing his

abilities, in much the same way the lighthawk wings had. Thinking quickly,

he remembered the words of Tsunami. 'Trust in your own power,' the blue

haired goddess had said, while onboard the Tsunami. This must be the

energy she was talking about. But he never expected it to enhance his

abilities in this way.

Russ continued to punch and kick at a rapid pace, not allowing

Tenchi any time to mount an offense, and he kept him moving backward.

Even Russ was impressed by how much faster Tenchi was moving. He had

already progressed beyond that of any normal human, and he knew Tenchi

had even more potential than this.

Deciding to change the game a little bit, he caught Tenchi's sword

in his hand, and yanked it away from him. Tossing it away over his head,

he continued his onslaught, punching and kicking.

"Time to fight without a weapon! Come on!" Russ encouraged,

not letting up in the least.

Tenchi increased his speed far beyond anything he had ever done

before. His mind was racing, and he could see everything clearly. Russ

never seemed to speed up, but he knew that they were both moving at a

phenomenal rate.

"I'm no martial artist! Just a swordsman!" he yelled, dodging

another fist aimed for his chest.

Russ caught a punch by Tenchi and threw him over his shoulder,

but Tenchi somehow caught himself and regained his balance, and landed

on his feet. Russ sprinted forward, and continued punching and kicking in

various places, nearly all of which were missing. Deciding to change that,

he increased his speed a little more, until about half of his punches and

kicks landed.

Fighting at his hardest, Tenchi did his very best to dodge all the

blows from Russ. Strangely enough, most of the blows that connected

didn't hurt as much as they did before. And he realized that his energy was

making him stronger. He felt a tinge of excitement as he continued to fight

Russ, dodging at such a high rate of speed and looking for an opening in

Russ's defenses.

Seeing one, he brought his foot up toward Russ's chest, but he

again missed as Russ had sidestepped it, spun around, and then knocked his

other leg out from under him, causing him to trip and fall once more. He

regained his footing at stared hard at Russ, but the saiyan was just smiling.

The song was drawing to a close, letting Tenchi finally relax as he fell over,

breathing heavily.

"I'm extremely impressed, Tenchi. You were moving fast enough

to dodge punches that would've sent any normal human flying. Excellent

work," Russ said, extending his hand to Tenchi, who was sweating

profusely.

Smiling, he grabbed Russ's hand and hauled himself to his feet.

His face was dirty and covered in sweat, and his lightweight t-shirt was

drenched under the arms and down his back.

"It'll take you some time to get used to using your energy to

enhance your own abilities. The stronger you get, the more energy you can

have, and you can use that energy in any way, shape, or form you want. If

you need to use it to increase your strength, you can. If you need to use it to

make yourself go faster, you can do that too. Katsuhito over there knows

how to do that, which is why he continually beats you up so easily. But

now, since you used your energy for this kind of thing for the first time, you

may be a much greater challenge to him the next time you spar," Russ said,

glancing over at the master, who smiled and nodded his head. However,

Ryoko was sitting next to him, and her eyes were nothing but twinkling

stars as she watched Tenchi.

"Tenchiiiiii!" she yelled, flying over to him and crushing him in a

hug. "You were amazing!"

Tenchi smiled. "Thank you, Ryoko. How long were you

watching?"

"I teleported in some time ago, since I woke up alone. I wanted to

go find you," she pouted.

Russ smirked and shook his head, ignoring he rest of the

conversation has he made his way over to Katsuhito, who was still relaxing

on the boulder.

"He'll be a much greater challenge to you once he learns how to

control his energy in this way. How come you never indicated to him that

he could do that?" Russ inquired, sitting down on a smaller rock, about a

foot away.

"I was waiting for him to discover that power on his own. He

already had exhibited some remarkable powers when he fought against the

first Kagato, but he still lacks the discipline to control or manipulate it

properly."

"That's the point of training him. But you should've at least

indicated to him that using his energy is a good thing. Every time I've seen

you two train, he does it all on his own, and you use some enhancements of

your own to continually defeat him."

Katsuhito grinned. "I know. But now that he knows he has this

power, it'll be interesting to see how well he progresses with it."

"True. Well anyway, once you two finish, I'm going to play a

game here in the holodeck," he said, standing up and stretching.

"We were just finishing up when you came in. I just wanted to see

how well he'd stand up to you. It surprised me that you managed to get him

to start using the Jurai power."

Russ nodded. "I call it ki, but it sounds similar. But it seems that

your Jurai power relies on some external source."

"Correct. Our trees are directly linked with us, and those are the

things that give us power."

"I see. My energy is my own. Nice thing about it is that nothing

can cut me off from this power. But I'm sure Washu would be able to

figure something out. After all, she is the universes greatest scientific

genius!" Russ laughed.

"Yes indeed," Katsuhito answered. "Tenchi!"

Trying to turn his head which had his lips still glued with Ryoko's,

he shrugged his shoulders. Katsuhito shook his own head.

"We're done for today. Russ wants to use the holodeck now, so

lets get out of here," he said, walking toward the doorway.

Somehow, Tenchi managed to nod his head, despite Ryoko

continuing to kiss him and display her affection. Russ turned away, trying

to keep from staring.

"Ugh, enough already," he muttered, never thinking that it could

be him doing that one of these days. "Computer, access the program Unreal

Tournament."

"Affirmative," it answered, as the landscape faded away, and was

replaced by three ultra tall buildings, each with platforms and ramps placed

all over each of the skyscrapers. None of the buildings were connected,

though. Russ, Ryoko, Tenchi, and Katsuhito all stood on the tallest

building, on top of the helicopter pad.

"Computer, set game parameters as follows. For mutators, use

Instagib, the speed relic, the vengeance relic, and the redemption relic. For

bot difficulty, set it to godlike. For bot parameters, load up 'Russ anime

set' and use a maximum of sixteen players. Set time limit to ten minutes

per round, and set to default maps. Game type is going to be deathmatch."

The computer gave a courtesy beep, and all the weapons, med kits,

and powerups vanished from all the buildings. A long, slender weapon

appeared in midair next to Russ, and he grabbed it, resting it in his right

hand. Three strange looking objects appeared in random places throughout

the level. One looked like an hourglass, another looked like a floating skull,

and the last one looked like a spiked wheel with an eye in the middle of it.

Tenchi, Ryoko, and Katsuhito all looked around the place in

astonishment, wondering where they were. Breaking his kiss with his lover,

they both continued to gawk at how high up in the atmosphere they were.

Looking down, they couldn't see the ground. It just seemed endless.

"What the heck is this, Russ?" Tenchi asked, still flabbergasted.

Turning toward him, he grinned. "This is based off of an earth

videogame called Unreal Tournament. I always had a ton of fun playing it,

and you guys don't have a computer, so I wanted to get in a few games

before we reach home. Except this is a bit different than playing on a

computer with a keyboard. Here, you're actually IN the game, and it

creates a whole new dimension of gameplay. It's a ton of fun."

"How is it played?" Ryoko asked, looking interested.

"Well, with the instagib mutator, it's a lot like laser tag. Have you

ever played that?"

"No."

"Uhhh," he mumbled. "Well, we take this enhanced shock rifle

here," he said, waving the orange weapon around, "and shoot the other

player. If you hit them, they explode. Quite messily, I might add. The

more you kill, the more points you get. Quite simple. The object of the

game is to kill the most while dying the least," Russ explained. "However,

I always seem to manage to kill the most, but die the most too," he laughed.

"Sounds like fun," Ryoko said, letting go of Tenchi. "Mind if I

play too?"

"Uhm, I suppose. But I recommend you sit this first game out. I

have the computer players at maximum difficulty, and since you're a new

player, you'd probably get really pissed off real fast going against them.

Besides, it'll also give you a chance to see how the game is played."

Ryoko nodded her head. "Okay, whatever you think is best."

"The computer will ignore you, and you can move freely

throughout the level. You don't need to worry about falling either. You

can just walk anywhere you please."

Tenchi and Ryoko looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders.

Katsuhito had left the room a little while ago, unnoticed.

"Well, time to rock and roll," Russ said, moving over to one of the

available starting positions. "Computer, add bots."

A loud, booming voice echoed around the arena, as it introduced

each of the characters. "Vash the Stampede from Trigun!"

The red-coated man appeared and quickly took up a starting

position, holding his rifle at the ready, having the light reflect off of his

glasses at just the right angle to make them glow yellow. The computer

continued to introduce the characters, and they all took up random starting

positions.

"Wolfwood from Trigun! Lina Inverse from The Slayers! Gourry

from The Slayers! Amelia from The Slayers! Zelgadis from The Slayers!

Xellos from The Slayers! Heero Yui from Gundam Wing! Duo Maxwell

from Gundam Wing! Wufei Chang from Gundam Wing! Gene Starwind

from Outlaw Star! Spike from Cowboy Bebop! Iria from the movie, Iria!

Akito Tenkawa from Martian Successor Nadesico! And lastly, Ryoko

Subaru from Martian Sucessor Nadesico!"

Each bot appeared as it was announced, and all the bots took up a

random starting position, out of sight from each of the other players.

Tenchi looked at all the characters, recognizing about half of them, since he

had seen the anime that they had come from. Vash the Stampede was tops

on his list, and he became curious as to how the bots were going to perform.

A device appeared over all the bots heads, and another one

appeared next to Russ, which he promptly put on. This device was the

HUD for the game, and it would indicate everything that he needed to

know, and who he killed, or was killed by. The little screen was green, and

it varied in color per bot.

Once again, the loud announcer's voice boomed. "Three Two

One GO!" And in less than a second, the entire area was washed in

orange laser fire, and it wasn't long before Amelia was the first to explode.

"FIRST BLOOD!" the announcer roared, congratulating Gene

Starwind for annihilating her. A few seconds later, she reappeared in a

different part of the level, and resumed playing, a pouty expression on her

face.

Russ was racing down the ramp, looking to get under the landing

pad, but he ran into Lina Inverse, and he quickly took aim and fired,

vaporizing her and watching the chunks fly. However, Spike came up

behind Russ and shot him in the back, causing him to explode in a gory

mess.

Tenchi and Ryoko both looked horrified, as it had looked real.

However, Russ reappeared in one of the buildings and he sprinted off to go

find himself another victim. They simply turned, looked at each other, and

facefaulted, leaving their feet straight up in the air.

Quickly running up a ramp way, he approached the top, looked to

his right, and spotted Zelgadis. Pulling the trigger before he turned around,

he turned him into slag. In less than a second, Spike appeared on a platform

across from him, and Russ zapped him too, watching him disintegrate.

"DOUBLE KILL!" the announcer boomed.

Seeing Gene Starwind run around the corner from the helicopter

pad ramp way, Russ instantly pulled his trigger again, blasting Gene into

slop.

"MULTI KILL!"

Lina Inverse respawned directly in front of Russ, and she fired her

rifle, but missed. Russ once again took aim and pulled the trigger, killing

her off.

"ULTRA KILL!" the announcer congratulated.

Out of nowhere, Amelia shot Russ in the back, killing him.

"DAMMIT!" Russ roared, after he respawned and nearly getting a

monster kill out of the whole thing and going on a killing spree.

He respawned inside the building, and was blasted to bits by Heero

Yui, before he even had a chance to take aim. Respawning again, this time

on top of the helicopter pad, he was killed off again by Ryoko Subaru.

Tenchi and Ryoko watched him play the game for the entire ten

minutes, watching him getting his butt kicked at certain points, and go on a

killing spree once. They were both grinning, as they could see Russ get

extremely irritated, since he would be killed, sometimes up to five times in

a row before he respawned in a room where nobody was around.

"Five Four Three Two One" the announcer boomed,

signaling the end of the match, and shining a spotlight down on the winner,

Russ.

On a nearby monitor for everybody to see, and on all the HUDs in

the game, it displayed the results. Number one on the list was Russ,

nicknamed Rustball, with sixty-six kills, and of course, maximum deaths,

which tallied seventy-nine. Number two was Spike with sixty-one kills, and

number three was Gene Starwind, with sixty kills. However, at the very

bottom of the list, was Vash the Stampede, with zero kills, and zero deaths.

About ten seconds later, the Morpheus level vanished and replaced

itself with the Gothic level, and a new variety of bots appeared, some of

them selected from the previous round.

Russ continued playing for another ten minutes, until he became

irritated and getting killed at an average of eighty times a round. The level

reset back to Morpheus and he jumped over to the tallest building, and saw

Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, and Sasami all standing around, smiling.

"You're pretty good at that game, Russ," Ryoko congratulated.

"Can we play now?"

Russ nodded. "Sure. I'll set up some new parameters for us to

play. Sound good?"

"Yeah!" Sasami agreed excitedly.

Russ laughed and entered the parameters to the computer, and once

again took up a starting position. However, Russ couldn't help but wonder

why Aeka would have a taste for this style of game. She didn't seem like

the type at all. Fortunately for them, they were already dressed for action

and excitement, and they didn't need to go change clothes.

For the next hour, they continued vaporizing each other, each

player turning the other into so much slag. Everybody was laughing and

having a good time, especially Aeka, since she had an uncanny ability for

shooting Russ in the back. The bot difficulty was set to novice, so it was

easy pickings for everybody.

Everyone exited the holodeck, all smiles and laughing warmly,

having enjoyed themselves immensely. They had never played a game like

it before. It was so action packed and fast paced that it filled them with

immense excitement and joy.

Everybody did quite well. Russ came out on top, and Ryoko was

in second place. Tenchi got third, Aeka got fourth, and Sasami got fifth.

The bots took up the other positions, having been nothing but target practice

for the human players. The standings continually repeated itself throughout

every single round, except for two, in which Ryoko had fallen a position,

and Aeka moved up. It nearly started a fight between the two girls, over

who was actually better, but Russ broke it up fairly quickly by vaporizing

Aeka and Ryoko, making them respawn in a different part of the level.

Exiting the holodeck, everybody was smiling, and congratulating

each other on a job well done.

"Well, did everybody have fun?" Russ asked, wiping off his

forehead with a towel. He tossed a clean towel to everybody, so they could

wipe themselves off from the exercise.

"I've never had so much fun in my life!" Sasami said excitedly.

Tenchi smiled. "That was a lot of fun. I've never done anything

like it before."

Russ turned toward him, grinning. "You've lived an isolated life,

haven't you? Judging by your reaction when I started the game, you

must've never even heard of Unreal Tournament."

Tenchi just smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I've heard

of it, but never seen it. I've heard my friends at school talk about it from

time to time."

"I see. Well, I'm glad you all enjoyed yourselves. I did too."

It was at that moment that the deck shook from an intense

rumbling sound, which echoed down the corridor and making everybody

look around in amazement. Russ became a curious shade of red, and then

started laughing.

"Breakfast time!" he said, cheerily.

Everybody facefaulted, then followed Russ to the cafeteria to get

something to fill his or her stomachs.

About three hours later, the Imperial Star Destroyer Gray Wolf had

exited hyperspace and quickly made its way to planet Earth, sending out a

jamming signal so the orbital satellites could not detect and identify his

ship.

Tom had come down from the bridge to the hanger bay, shaking

everybody's hand once more and giving Russ a warm hug, inviting him to

come back sometime soon to chew the fat. As a going away present, Tom

had given Russ all three volumes of Saber Marionette J, the boxed set of

Saber Marionette J Again, Saber Marionette J to X, and Saber Marionette R,

so he could see the whole thing in its entirety.

Everybody's luggage was brought into the bay, and the men had

started loading it onto one of the ATRs, but they stopped when Ryoko

ordered Ryo-Ohki to transform into a spaceship.

A loud meow and some other weird sound effects later, the

crystalline ship hovered just above the floor, nearly touched the ceiling.

Tom and his crew stared at the vessel in astonishment, and they grew even

more amazed when the entire mountain of luggage vanished from their

hands.

Russ couldn't help but laugh, and he told Tom what had happened.

Shaking his head and muttering something about getting too old for that

kind of thing, he bid them farewell and left the bay, as everybody except

Russ was transported onboard.

Climbing onboard his new starfighter, Russ started it up, preparing

to follow the cabbit down into the atmosphere.

They were guided out of the hanger bay by the many tractor beams

throughout the hold, and they were released when they were clear of the

massive starship. However, a galaxy police patrol ship sped their way, and

they immediately recognized it as Mitzuki's vessel.

"I see you guys made it home. It's about time. I think I have

cobwebs becoming attached to me from lack of activity," she grumbled

through the open comlink to Ryo-Ohki.

The Star Destroyer pulled out of orbit and made its way out of the

solar system and then entered hyperspace, on its way back home.

"We told you that you could kick back and relax here, didn't we?"

Kiyone retorted, flashing her a wicked smile. "We always have plenty to do

around here."

"Is that so? Like what? Dusting your ship?" she shot back, a few

of her hairs getting out of place.

"Hey! You know I dealt with Kagato before," Mihoshi yelled,

getting irritated.

"Oh yes, the great Kagato, defeated by the worlds largest klutz,"

Mitzuki muttered, glaring at both GP officers.

Kiyone clenched her hands into fists, and began grinding her teeth.

"Go home, Mitzuki. Your shift here is over. You are OFFICIALLY

relieved of duty, now GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" she yelled at the

very top of her voice.

Everybody who had been onboard Ryo-Ohki had suddenly begun

to perspire, and they began to conform to their own little nervous habits.

Tenchi began biting his fingernails, Aeka fumbled with her kimono, Ryoko

looked off into the other direction, trying to look busy, and the others did

various things.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Nobuyuki mumbled to

himself, and then cracked a slight smile.

Mitzuki looked completely astonished, unable to come up with a

suitable retort before the comlink was cut off to her ship.

"DAMMIT! I can't STAND that woman!" Kiyone roared, way

beyond the level of pissed off.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Kiyone! She's going back to

headquarters and we won't have to look at her for a while, okay?" Mihoshi

pleaded, hoping to calm down her partner.

Still seething, she managed to stop grinding her jaw and sit back

down on the plush chair, just as Ryo-Ohki sped through the atmosphere.

The ship began to shake slightly and the temperature inside increased by

nearly ten degrees, and the ground began to take on more and more detail as

they approached their home.

Five minutes later, everybody transported off of the cabbitship, and

Ryo-Ohki turned back into the cute, cuddly cabbit that everybody loved.

Russ landed near the lake and sealed the hatch to the fighter, and made his

way over to the group.

"Washu?"

The red haired girl turned around, looking at him with brilliant

green eyes. "You need something?"

"Yes please. Do you have a place where I can put my fighter? I

don't want it to be seen by anybody," Russ fretted, looking back at the Tie

Defender.

"No problem. You can use the subspace garage thingy that Kiyone

and Mihoshi used to use before they upgraded to the Yagami," she said,

pressing a button on her suddenly present keyboard. A black hole opened

up out of nowhere and swallowed up the fighter, and then it resealed itself.

"Okay, great. Now how do I get it back out of there?" Russ asked,

looking worried.

Washu handed him a small, one button remote controller. "Just

press the button and your fighter will be ejected from subspace. Pure and

simple."

"Thanks a lot, Washu. I appreciate it," Russ said, giving a slight

bow.

"Think nothing of it. You were very kind to all of us in taking us

to Jurai. Anyway, I gave Tom's engineer some new technology, and I think

that's going to keep them busy for a while."

Russ grinned. "I'm sure he appreciates that as well."

Washu grinned. "Yes he does. They should have the transporters

installed soon. I explained why he was never able to beam through the hull

of the ship. As it turns out, he never put any emitters on the outside of the

ship. Once he does that, he'll be using the transporters rather than those

bulky transports of his."

"Wow, cool. I'm sure he really appreciates that."

Washu smiled and nodded her head.

"Well, what should we do today? We've got the whole day ahead

of us, since we fell asleep onboard the ship. Anybody have any ideas?"

Russ asked, looking full of energy.

Everybody turned and stared at Russ, as if he were crazy.

"Not everybody had gone to sleep, Russ," Nobuyuki grumbled, his

eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. "But that's exactly what I'm going to

do. I got to go to work tomorrow," he said, pushing open the door and

walking inside, followed by everybody.

Russ remained outside, looking dejected. He hung his head and

made his way over to the lake, preparing to exercise once more. However,

before he began, a meowing noise became present from behind him.

Turning around, Russ smiled. "Hi, Ryo-Ohki!" he said, sitting

down on the soft grasses and allowing the cabbit to jump onto his lap.

"You don't have anything to do either, I take it?"

The little cabbit meowed a no, and rubbed her head on Russ's

hand, encouraging him to pet her.

Chuckling quietly, he did, causing her to purr softly. Russ looked

up into the sky and sighed. "Man, what's with me anyway? Trouble

follows me wherever I go. It really had a stranglehold on me while we were

on Jurai. I don't get it," he sighed, scratching under the cabbits chin.

Ryo-Ohki looked up into Russ's eyes, which were downcast and

sad.

Russ continued. "But still, I have to keep looking forward. I can't

let things like that get me down or I'll go crazy. It's just that things like that

happen so darn often," he explained, not realizing that the cabbit understood

every single word that he was saying.

Meowing words of encouragement, she managed to get Russ to

smile.

"I should stop dragging my feet and forget about that stuff. That's

what you're saying, right?"

Ryo-Ohki shook her head, and tried to explain it to him once more,

without having much success.

Russ looked at her and thought a moment. "Well, what the hell.

Hold still, Ryo-Ohki. I'll try reading your mind. Maybe that way I can

understand you."

Gently placing his hand on the cabbits head, he concentrated,

letting his mind be flooded with the images and sounds of the little cabbit.

After several moments, he withdrew his hand and smiled. "I still

don't get it."

Ryo-Ohki facefaulted and fell off of his lap, meowing something

incomprehensible.

"Oh well. Thanks for trying to cheer me up. I guess I'll go relax

by those trees or something. It's a beautiful day," Russ said, standing up

and making his way over to the edge of the forest, where he found himself a

nice, comfortable spot under an oak tree. He set his stereo down on the

ground and sat on the soft grasses, between two roots, and he leaned his

back against the trunk of the tree. "I may as well enjoy the day for what it

is," he said, turning on the stereo and resuming the soundtracks of the Saber

Marionette series. He closed his eyes and let his imagination wander.

Dozing off a short while later with Ryo-Ohki on his lap, they both dreamt of

something pleasant, but they were unsure of what it was.


	14. Chapter 14

Ep 14 Nightmares

You guys are still reading this story?!?! Well, I'm flattered, in that case. ?

Tenchi is copyrighted Pioneer and DBZ is copyrighted by Funimation. I've

got a new email address now, which is . Use that from

now on to send me questions/comments/friendly criticism/fanmail. My

Mediaone address is going bye bye as a result of a cable company merger,

but I bought a domain name that can forward email to any account I want.

Anyway, enjoy the final chapters of the story. Only about 3 5 left to go

Notice! New Website is available for the Tenchi fans! Come check it out

at .net or .net and sign the Guestbook, letting me

know you were there. The fanfic will also be posted there, as will it be on

the TMFFA, AND on .net. All updates to the story

(including progress per chapter) are posted there, and you can find a ton of

info regarding Tenchi.

"Now on final approach to planet Xnafu. Estimated time to

arrival, twenty minutes. Now initiating wake-up sequence. Wake up,

Zorpheus," the computer stated as it released a white gas into the spacepod,

breathing life back into the frozen saiyan seated in the soft leather. Raising

the temperature up to a steamy ninety degrees Fahrenheit, warming the air

in the cockpit, it began its horrid beeping noise, patiently waiting for the

resuscitation process to finish.

"Not now, mommy. Just a few more minutes," Zorpheus mumbled

incoherently, still groggy from sleeping for three months straight. He

stretched himself out, causing nearly every joint in his body to pop from

being immobile for so long. Letting out a loud, long, deep groan, he

continued to stretch, his arms reaching to the very back of the pod and his

legs pressed against the door. Finally taking notice to the beeping, he

casually smacked the button on the computer console, turning it off. He let

out a huge yawn and rubbed his eyes, just now becoming aware of his

surroundings. Noting the bright sunshine that glared at him though the

small window, he squinted his eyes to try to get a better look of the outside.

A large, violet planet presented itself directly in front of him, and he

grinned to himself.

"Computer, what planet is this?"

No response.

Zorpheus looked at the computer and then remembered that he

forgot to turn on the voice commands once again. "Ugh. Stupid defaults.

Oh well. I don't care about it this time," he said to himself as he keyed in

the necessary instructions.

"Voice commands ready."

"Thank you so much," he answered sarcastically. "What planet is

this?"

"This is the planet Xnafu. It currently has one hundred billion

inhabitants, all of them Xenomorphs, and they"

"Yes, yes, yes. That's all very interesting, but I didn't ask for it,"

he said, interrupting the computer's mindless dribble. "What is the

maximum power level on this planet?"

"Maximum scouter detection level stops at twenty million, and the

inhabitants of this planet surpass it," it responded. "However, records

indicate that the strongest Xenomorph of all had an estimated maximum

level of one hundred eighty million."

Zorpheus whistled to himself. "Not bad. Any special techniques

and are they considered a hostile race?"

"They have an unnatural rate of speed at which they can move.

However, they can only maintain it for less than a second and for very short

distances. The Xenomorph race is not considered hostile and is generally

peaceful. Their military is extraordinarily powerful and ruthless though,

and a confrontation with them is not likely, however, if provoked, they do

have the power to destroy a solar system."

"How much time until I touchdown?"

"Approximately one minute. Initiating landing sequence."

"Wow, and I told this thing to wake me up twenty minutes before.

I guess waking up out of stasis takes longer than I thought. I'll have to set it

for a half hour when I get to Earth, just in case Russ is there," he muttered

to himself. "I hope he's not though. I don't want to fight him. I wish he

saw things my way."

The small spacepod began to glow red as it screamed into the

atmosphere of the planet. A bright red flame erupted around the outer shell

of the craft, leaving a long, red streak behind it. Zorpheus began to talk to

himself.

"I don't know what Russ's problem was with me becoming

immortal or invincible anyway. He basically just said, 'No, and that's final'

and then left it at that. No real reason behind it. I hate it when he leaves me

guessing like that." Zorpheus let out a sigh and then continued. "I really

never wanted to live forever, but I wanted to be invincible for the time that I

was alive. I never wanted to worry about being killed in a fight, unlike

some people. Too bad he never gave me the opportunity to explain myself.

Him and his high 'n mighty attitude and ways ugh."

The spacepod finally had slowed down enough to stop glowing

red, and the green land below him became visible. Luscious green grass

and trees, flowers of unusual species and color, and a plethora of other plant

life covered the entire landscape, as far as the eye could see. The terrain

was mostly flat, except for a few small rolling hills. The sky was a

gorgeous shade of violet, which seemed to glow with its own form of

energy. Blue clouds were spaced sporadically throughout the sunlit sky,

and everything just seemed so perfect. Hardly any planets looked this

wonderful, lively, and healthy. It was like stepping into a brand new

dimension, which was untouched by crime, filth, and other unnecessary

evils.

Finally, Zorpheus reached the surface, and his pod came to a halt

just before smashing into the ground, and then set down gently.

"Scanning atmosphere," his computer informed him.

"Yeah, yeah. Hurry up already. I need to get in some exercise

before going to Earth. I've trained a hell of a lot harder than Russ ever has,

and I'm way stronger than he was the last time we met about a year ago,

even though he still thinks he's stronger. And I'm sure he's working

himself to the bone as well, preparing to face me," Zorpheus mumbled,

looking out of the window and noticing several dozen creatures run up near

the pod, but didn't approach it.

"Atmosphere is equivalent to that of Earth. No poisons detected.

Air temperature is seventy-four degrees Fahrenheit. Barometric pressure is

at thirty-five atmospheres, which is higher than that of Earth. Equalizing

pressure now," the computer quipped. A quiet hissing became apparent, as

the pressure equalized on the inside of the pod.

Zorpheus stared at the life forms in surprise. "Weird looking

creatures. They almost look like a bunch of Cells, but red in color. Well, at

least they're humanoids."

"Releasing hatch, and shutting down," his ship informed him as the

latch bolts withdrew, releasing the door. It hummed as it raised itself,

letting in the warm, fragrant air and the sounds from outside.

Placing his hand on the armrest, he raised himself up and poked his

head out of the door, checking out the surroundings. Several of the

creatures gasped in surprise, but continued to watch in stunned silence.

Standing up to his full height, he stretched himself out once more,

and then smiled at the creatures. Pulling back his blue hood on his cloak, he

shook out his thick saiyan hair.

"Hi guys," he began. "I'm Zorpheus. I'm sorry, but I can't think

of a better introduction than that," he laughed. "Which one of you is the

leader or ambassador around here?"

The Cells looked at each other and spoke between each other in

their native tongue. One of them eyed Zorpheus, and he slowly stepped

forward. Zorpheus regarded him with a look of curiosity.

"Hello, traveler. I'm Jordan, of the Xenomorph people. We

welcome you to our humble planet. Is there something we can help you

with, traveler?"

Zorpheus grinned slightly and folded his hands in front of him.

"Just call me Zorpheus, Jordan."

"Very well, Zorpheus," he responded, his voice sounding like he

ate a live frog. "From what race of people do you come from?"

"I'm a half human, half saiya-jin hybrid, and I um Did I say

something wrong?" he asked, noting the horrified stares from all the

bystanders. Jordan somehow managed to keep his cool.

"You are a saiya-jin warrior?" he asked worriedly. "Please, don't

destroy us. We didn't do anything to you or Frieza. Why have you come

here?"

Looking at him in astonishment, Zorpheus started laughing. "Not

to worry, my friend. I'm not a part of that Frieza gang or anything. He's

been dead for nearly a millennia, Earth time. Goku, also known as

Kakarrot, finished him off a long time ago," he told them. "Actually, it was

Vegeta's son, Trunks, who dealt the finishing blow. He killed off King

Cold too."

Everybody's eyes went wide in bewilderment. "Frieza is dead, and

his father too? For over a thousand years?"

"Where have you been?" Zorpheus responded indignantly. "Yes,

he's been long dead and forgotten. He was actually quite a pushover. Your

strongest warrior was many, many times stronger than he was."

Jordan looked nervously back at the still-growing group of people.

"None of us were capable of defeating Frieza, except for our legendary

hero, Conqubine."

"I see. Anyway, to get to my point of being here, I'm here to

train."

Again, the Xenomorph looked taken aback. "You want to fight

us?"

Zorpheus nodded his head enthusiastically. "You got it. I'm not

going to kill you or destroy your planet. I just need training partners to

fight with."

"I see."

"The computer records we have of your people and planet are a

little dated, but still accurate. You guys should be able to provide me with a

very worthy challenge."

Jordan looked hard into Zorpheus's red eyes, judging his power

level. "Your power seems rather low, actually. Are you sure you're strong

enough to fight some of our best warriors?"

Again, Zorpheus nodded. "Yes."

"Very well. Since I'm certain that you're ready to begin, you can

start by fighting me. Prove your worth to me, and then I'll take you to our

most prominent warriors," Jordan croaked, clenching his fists. The massive

crowd of people took off into the air and flew several miles away, leaving

the two to fight unimpeded.

"No offense, but you don't seem very strong either," Zorpheus

said, looking hard into Jordan's eyes. "Your energy is quite low."

"I, like you, can hide my true energy. Most of the time I can see

past that cloak, but I can't seem to be able to with you."

"Well, let's cut to the chase. Are you ready to begin?"

Jordan's red energy exploded around him and the ground shattered

under his feet. "Yes."

Shielding his face, Zorpheus smiled. He was more powerful than

he thought. "Excellent! Now, let me show you my power the awesome

power of the Super Saiyan."

Jordan stopped and stared. "That's only a legend. A fairytale.

Super Saiyans aren't real. Frieza always said that."

"Then what" he growled, clenching his fists. "Would you

callTHIS?" Zorpheus yelled, as his hair and eyebrows became golden, his

natural eye became a sea green, and his muscle mass doubled in size. His

aura of energy shined of gold as it pulsed around him, causing his dark blue

cape to flap in the wind of his power. His black body armor was pressed

tightly against his chest and legs, and his artificial arm became much more

powerful, but not quite as strong as his natural arm. His artificial eye's

retina remained red in color.

Jordan looked at him horror. "No it's not possible," he stuttered.

However, he looked again and his horror turned to skepticism. "Why hasn't

your other arm grown larger in size, and why is your other eye still red?"

"I had an accident many years ago in which I lost an eye and my

arm. These are artificial."

Jordan nodded his head in understanding, but his nervousness

returned. "Shall we begin?"

"I think that's a fine idea. Let's go!" Zorpheus shouted.

Light-years across space, something amusing was happening.

"Uhhh"

"I don't feel any different at all. What about you, Miss Lina?"

Both Lina Inverse and Amelia looked at each other in confusion as

they tried to figure out what was going wrong with their spell.

"Don't tell me! Don't tell me that thing just now was it?!" Lina

yelled.

"That thing just now wasn't it?" Amelia replied, worriedly.

Zelgadis appeared from behind the coffin where the goofy clothes

and spell book was kept. "Uhhh, so do you girls want to try another song?"

"Are you kidding?!" Lina yelled, waving her arms around. "I've

had it! Some big ultimate spell of divine holy protection!" She continued

to stomp her feet and wave her arms around like a child.

"It's not an ultimate spell of anything," one of the twins, who had

chased them around, said.

"They're lost festival dances," the other finished for her sister.

Lina looked at them in horror. "They're FESTIVAL DANCES?"

"Dances and songs to honor the ancient gods," the first twin

explained.

"You know? Melodies to summon the holy light 'n stuff," the

other finished.

Lina looked like she was about to have a heart attack and die. The

monster that had followed them into the room chuckled.

"Oh man, I was wondering what you were trying. What an idiot,"

he laughed.

On the other side of the room, Lina clenched her fists and began

reciting her most infamous spell.

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows"

she began.

"Uhhh, Lina?" Zelgadis said, trying to interrupt her.

"Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I

pledge myself to conquer" she continued.

Zelgadis became extremely afraid, as he knew what was coming.

"All the foes who stand"

"Hey! You're not gonna"

"With the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand! Let the

fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"

she screamed, looking psychotic as a red orb glowed between her hands.

The room instantly cleared itself as the monster put up a wall of faces to try

to keep from being destroyed.

"DRAGOOOOON SLLLLLLLAVE!" she screamed, releasing a

huge, ruby red beam of energy into the room. The resulting explosion

completely annihilated everything within the blast radius and created a

crater about a quarter mile in diameter. Once the smoke had cleared, we

could see the devastation. The monster was completely vaporized except

for a few remaining chunks that littered the ground. All the bandits were

charred and smoking.

"That's no fair" one of them choked out.

"SHUT UP!" Lina yelled, balling up her fist. "It's a small price to

pay for letting you watch me sing!"

"That's Miss Lina for you!" Amelia chimed in, somehow

unscathed.

Both Russ and Sasami fell off of the couch laughing at the scene

that played out on the TV.

"No kidding that that's Miss Lina for you," Russ laughed,

struggling to get back onto the couch. "She's so hilarious and irritating at

the same time."

Sasami managed to get back onto the couch as she continued to

laugh along with Russ. "I love The Slayers. It's such a funny series!"

"I agree with you there, Sasami. Episode forty is one of my

favorites. And this series is actually The Slayers Next, but who cares,"

Russ managed to say, trying to catch his breath just as Lina's energy flared

up around her in a pillar of fire.

"I'LL MAKE YOU FORGET IT! DRAOOOOOOOON

SLLLLLLLAVE!" Lina screamed again, resulting in another huge

explosion and another round of laughter from the duo on the couch.

Aeka was on the other side of the room watching Russ and her

sister enjoy one of their favorite anime. He had been with them for the past

three months, and she couldn't have been happier. Always having a warm

smile and a caring demeanor about him, she had begun to become more and

more attached to him. It was unreal. There had been Tenchi, but he was

always divided and indecisive. Russ was firm and very sure of himself,

most of the time.

Tenchi was always kind and considerate towards her and always

polite, but he never really did anything beyond that. He never took her

anywhere, never did anything with her, and had always seemed to be

distant. But that could've been because of one of two reasons. Either he

couldn't because Ryoko wouldn't let him, or he just wasn't interested. Of

course, she always believed the former. She was never able to be alone

with him.

Russ, on the other hand, when he wasn't training, would look to

spend time with everybody, always looking for something fun and

enjoyable to do, or to just sit and talk. He never made any advances, and he

did make it clear to her that he wasn't interested, however, on rare occasion,

she'd catch him staring at her from a distance. Whenever she'd turn her

head toward him, he'd smile, wave, then continue whatever it was he was

doing. He was fantastic company when Tenchi and Ryoko had gone on a

weeklong trip to the beach. The house was empty and quiet, especially

without Tenchi, Ryoko, Mihoshi, and Kiyone. Washu was always locked

up in her lab, and Nobuyuki was always gone at work, and her brother was

always up at the shrine, only coming down for meals. The only people she

could to talk to were Russ, Sasami, and her two guardians. But it was

enough. He had cooked for the three of them on several occasions, and he

even cut back on his training to keep the two of them company. He took

them all to the mall, the movies, and several other places of interest. He

was a really fun loving guy, and she could see that he got immense

enjoyment out of seeing others smile.

Continuing to watch her sister and Russ on the couch, she smiled.

He was so much like a big brother to her, and Sasami loved him for it. He'd

sit down and play video games with her, watch anime, take her out for ice

cream, and just be her friend. On occasion, he'd wrestle with her, being

extremely gentle as to not hurt her. One of the things he loved doing was

torturing her sister by ticking her, usually when she'd beat him at a game

they were playing. They'd show each other different cooking recipes and

taste test each other's dishes. Sometimes when Russ would play the organ,

Sasami would sit next to him on the bench and watch him play for hours.

Ryo-Ohki loved him too, and all three of them would do activities from

time to time. They loved to play pranks on each other. He even began to

show her how to use her Jurai Power. However, Russ never showed her

any attacks, but rather, taught her how to heal and mend. He argued that

such a pretty girl should never have to fight, but should be known as a

healer instead. After that, he explained to her how to fly, but she hadn't

quite gotten the hang of that yet. As a very special treat, he took her to see

the Earth's Guardian, Dende. Somehow, he was still alive, after a

millennium of watching the Earth. Apparently being a god had given him

quite an extension of life. From what she was told, Dende and Sasami hit it

right off and became good friends. Mister Popo was still up there as well,

and he wound up mistaking Russ for Goku, as nearly everybody else had.

She had asked why they had gone to this place, and Russ told her that it was

a secret. However, Sasami had overheard something mentioned about

Dragonballs to Popo while she was being taught how to heal by Dende.

Korin was still fine and well, and didn't look a day older than he was a

thousand years ago. He too had mistaken Russ for Goku. Sasami got a kick

out of the cat, but she was very respectful and she quickly made another

friend. It was quite a trip for her. Russ really loved Sasami, and it showed.

Unfortunately, there was an aura of depression about Russ too.

Sometimes, before he was done training, he'd stop and slowly walk off

toward the forest, where he'd jump up into a tree and sit for several hours,

looking very lost and deep in thought. He never smiled while he was up in

that tree. Other times, he'd just sit by the lake, his chin in his palm, as he

watched the ripples of the lake lap the shoreline and the dock. His face

would take on a sad expression, and he'd become very quiet. She wondered

what was bothering him, and she asked him on several occasions, but he'd

always just smile and say nothing was wrong, and that she didn't need to

concern herself about him. It made her feel bad, as she wished that she

could do something for him to alleviate that sadness. Whenever she'd try to

figure him out, she always came back to the same conclusion, and that was

loneliness. The only argument she had against that is that he didn't want a

partner in life, or in love, but why would he continually subject himself to

that kind of torment? Even if being with him put her own life in danger, she

was willing to risk it, but he wasn't willing to allow her to. Whenever she

had seen him looking at her while she was in the garden or doing something

around the house, he was never smiling until she looked at him. It was

almost as if he were wishing that she could be his, but something was

preventing it. The one quest that she had set out to solve was to find out

what that barrier was, and destroy it. However, what was it going to take?

"Hey Russ?"

"What is it, Sasami?" Russ answered, wiping a tear from the

corner of his eye from laughing so hard.

"Do you think that your Kamehameha is more powerful than her

Dragon Slave?"

Russ looked at her, and then smirked. "I don't know. What do

you say we go outside and see?"

Sasami's eyes went wide. "You can cast the Dragon Slave?"

Russ grinned. "Well, not really, but I could probably make a fair

approximation of it."

"Oh, that is so cool!"

Russ laughed as he stood up from the couch and grasped the little

princess's hand. "Let's give it a try, shall we?"

"You be careful with my sister, Russ!" Aeka called after him.

Russ just turned around and gave her a raspberry, sticking out his tongue

and pulling his left eye down with his finger. Sasami did the same thing as

they both laughed and made their way into the yard while Aeka stared hard

after them, growling obscenities at their retreating forms.

"Okay, Sasami. Stand here, just in case something goes wrong,"

Russ said, seriously, after releasing her hand. "I don't want you getting

hurt."

Sasami smiled and nodded her head as Russ walked to the edge of

the lake. He looked into the sky, checking for airplanes or any other flying

machine that could get barbequed by the beam. Turning around, he gave a

thumbs up, and then charged a little of his energy as he recited the lines.

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows,

buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I pledge myself to

conquer, all the foes who stand, with the mighty gift bestowed in my

unworthy hand" he chanted, as a huge red ball formed between his hands.

His energy exploded around him in a green fireball, as he prepared to

release the spell. "Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the

power you and I possess!"

Aeka had appeared next to Sasami and watched him in awe.

Ryoko was on the roof of the Misaki house, eyeballing him in curiosity, but

not paying much attention until his energy shot way up.

"DRAGOOOOON SLLLLLLLLLAVE!" he roared, as he brought

his hands in front of him and released an incredibly huge, powerful, blood

red beam. It screamed out of his hands and into the sky, blanketing the

entire area in an eerie red glow.

However, the attack had an unexpected side effect.

"What the hell?!" he yelled, as he lost his footing and started to fly

back from the massive recoil of the beam's launch. Quickly killing off the

energy of the attack, he continued to hurtle back toward the house.

"INCOMING!" he screamed, as he sailed past Aeka and Sasami

and then crashed into the mountainside, making a small crater in the hard

ground. Ryoko could be heard laughing from the roof.

"Oh my god! Russ!" Sasami yelled as she ran toward his point of

impact. However, she didn't need to worry, as Russ simply got back up out

of the hole he made and smiled.

"That beam has some kick to it," he laughed.

"You IDIOT!" Aeka yelled, balling her hands into fists at her

sides. "You should be more careful!"

"Ahhh, nothing to worry about," Russ said, flatly. "I just wasn't

expecting that. I better not cast the Gigaslave or I'd be in serious trouble."

He started laughing.

"Oooh! You make me so mad sometimes!" Aeka yelled, as she

turned and stomped back to the house. Both Russ and Sasami watched her

retreating form until she entered the house and slammed the door behind

her.

"What's her problem?" Russ asked as he scratched his head.

Sasami smiled. "Don't worry about her. She knows you can take

care of yourself."

Russ laughed. "She gets mad too quickly. If she keeps that up,

she's going to develop wrinkles."

"I HEARD THAT!" Aeka roared through an open window. It was

followed up with another burst of laughing by the space pirate.

"Well anyway, I guess I should" he began, but stopped in

mid-sentence. Russ's face became a mask of concentration just as Washu

burst out of the house and ran toward Sasami and Russ, looking incredibly

worried.

"What's wrong, Russ?"

Looking off into the sky, he knew what it was. "I can feel

Zorpheus's power. He's become a super saiyan and he's fighting someone

or something. However, he's still very, very far away."

Sasami looked worried. "I can't feel anything, Russ. But here

comes Washu. Maybe she can tell us what's going on."

Quickly running up to the twosome, Washu took a moment to

catch her breath. "Sasami, Russ. We've got a big problem."

"What is it, Washu?" Russ asked, reminding himself not to say

something sarcastic, as he didn't really like her all that much, and she knew

it too.

"I've detected a subspace tear in the solar system," the red haired

genius began to explain.

"So stitch it up or something," Russ said, unable to keep from

making a wisecrack.

Washu glared hard at him. "I'm not kidding around here, Russ.

This is serious. There is an energy coming through that tear. And I'm

afraid it's something we've dealt with before."

Sasami's eyes went wide in horror. "No it can't be"

"I'm afraid so, Sasami. We are in serious trouble. Kain has

returned."

"Kamehameha!!!!" Zorpheus yelled, releasing the blue beam from

his hands, letting it race toward Jordan. However, he vanished from his

former position and the beam sailed through his afterimage, and then

smashed into the ground, creating a huge explosion and making a massive

crater.

"Missed me!" Jordan taunted, as he punched Zorpheus from

behind in the kidney, punched him in the lower back, punched him in the

back of the head, and then finished off the combo with a double axe handle

on the top of Zorpheus's head, sending him to the ground, making a

thunderous crash and another crater.

Zorpheus made it back to his feet and looked up at Jordan, who

looked about as beat up as he was. Zorpheus's cape was torn to shreds and

his body armor was cracked in several places. However, Jordan didn't look

any better. His own clothing was torn up, revealing his skin in several

places. He looked more and more like a Cell than ever before. If he were

green, then he could've passed for Cell.

"That technique of yours is very impressive. It's so fast that it

almost circumvents time and space. You seem to appear before you even

move in the first place!" Zorpheus said, leaping into the air and rocketing

toward Jordan, and beginning a flurry of punches and kicks, all of which

were being blocked, dodged, and parried. After a moment, Zorpheus landed

a kick to Jordan's stomach, making him double over in pain, and Zorpheus

used his other foot to kick him in the face, snapping him back to a standing

position. Quickly capitalizing on the situation, Zorpheus began a very high

rate of punches to Jordan's face, and then finished off with a roundhouse

kick, which sent Jordan to the ground. Zorpheus quickly followed it up

with a yellow energy ball, which impacted the spot where Jordan landed,

creating another large explosion and yet another crater.

However, Jordan returned to his feet rather quickly, and then

smiled. "I'm quite flattered that you're impressed over one of our

techniques. And yes, you're right. It DOES circumvent time and space.

For an instant, I'm actually in two places at once. It's the fastest technique

that exists for moving from one place to another." Quickly sprinting

forward several steps, he caught up to Zorpheus, who had landed several

dozen meters away and began a vicious offensive attack, mixing up

punches, kicks, and several other unorthodox blows, all of which were

being dodged by Zorpheus. After a moment, Zorpheus managed to land a

punch to his face, sending him back a few paces. He then was blown away

by a huge energy discharge by Zorpheus, and he crashed into the ground

once again, making a long trench.

"That's incredible. Not even the instantaneous movement can go

at that rate. However, our way of using it can let us travel really long

distances in an instant. It is very handy. Perhaps we can teach each other

our techniques," Zorpheus asked, walking over to where Jordan had picked

himself up out of the dirt.

"That sounds good. I'd very much like to learn a technique like

that."

Zorpheus smiled. "Excellent. Well, anyway, it was a pleasure to

fight with you, but now I must end it and move on to the tougher guys. You

were a very worthy opponent, but I've been holding back for quite a while

now. I'm surprised you're not winded yet. And besides, we've utterly

destroyed this landscape. A shame."

Jordan smiled, and then bowed. "I appreciate your compliment.

And don't worry about the landscape. This planet, in a way, is alive. These

craters and all of this damage will be gone in only seven days. The planet

'heals' itself quickly," Jordan explained.

Smiling, Zorpheus became very impressed. "Wow. That's really

neat. I've never known a planet like this one before. No wonder I didn't

see any kind of damage when I was landing. Very impressive."

"Yes. Well, shall we finish our fight?"

Zorpheus grinned evilly, then appeared directly in front of Jordan.

"Night night, and thanks," he said, balling up his fist and hurling it directly

into the stunned Jordan's head. His fist connected and sent Jordan flying,

knocking him out cold, but not killing him. He crash-landed several miles

away, his eyes going vertigo, as he mumbled incoherent phrases.

"I love doing that," Zorpheus said, then started laughing. "Ahhh,

the pleasures of toying with your opponents. But that was a great warm-up.

Now, let's see what we got around here" he muttered as he scanned for a

higher power level. Using the scouter built into his artificial eye, he

scanned the surrounding land. Finding only two power levels at ten million,

he scanned a little further, and found two more that went over twenty

million, which was his scouter's limitation.

"Well, this may have to do. Jordan was about fifteen million, so

these guys ought to be able to do a bit more than he did," he said to himself

as Jordan appeared next to him. Zorpheus acknowledged him with a nod

and a grin. "Welcome back."

Jordan smiled. "Excellent technique. You're much stronger than I

anticipated. I shall now take you to our most powerful warrior that we have

on this planet."

"Excellent. I very much appreciate this."

Jordan lifted off into the air and began to fly toward a distant

military base, where the strongest warriors stayed and slept. Zorpheus

followed him, easily keeping pace.

"So, what's the name of your strongest warrior?" Zorpheus asked,

pulling up next to Jordan.

"Her name is not pronounceable in your tongue, unfortunately.

But if you must call her something, call her Pyramid."

Smiling and trying to keep from laughing out loud, Zorpheus put a

hand over his mouth. "Pyramid? Why that? And did you say, SHE?"

Jordan grinned, then shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. She. I have

no idea why she chose that, but it fits her. She's lasted the longest out of

everybody on this planet in a fight, and pyramids are known to last tens of

thousands of years. She's built like a rock and incredibly powerful. I think

she'll be capable of pushing you to a much higher limit."

"Awesome. I'm looking forward to meeting this Pyramid for

myself. Is she friendly?"

"Yes. Even though she is the most powerful person on this planet,

she has remained nice and friendly to everybody. Just don't make her mad

or she goes crazy." Jordan looked forward, watching where he was going,

and then looked over at Zorpheus. "She's also a flirt. Be careful around

her."

"Hmmm, very interesting. I can't wait to meet this chick,"

Zorpheus said, turning back to normal from a super saiyan. "I guess I

should play a little game with her as I did with you, and turn into a super

saiyan when the going gets tough."

Jordan smiled. "You'll definitely surprise her."

"Excellent. Well, let's get moving. I got to get in a lot of training

before I head off to Earth. There is another guy who is headed there as

well, if he isn't there already. He's a lot like me, but a little weaker than I

am at present time. I need to stay ahead of him, but it most likely won't

happen that way. Somehow, he always manages to pass me. However, I'm

usually a better fighter than he is. I'm more careful and calculating, and he

relies on his increased strength. But he too has some attacks that make

mine look like child's play," Zorpheus explained.

"Why are you going to Earth?"

Thinking a moment, he figured that he might as well reveal his

truth. "Well, have you ever heard of something called Dragonballs?"

Jordan shook his head. "No. What are those?"

"Well, they're magical balls that, when brought together, can grant

the person one, two or three wishes, ranging from getting a pair of new

underwear to acquiring immortality."

"Immortality? Who would want to live forever anyway?"

"Well, me. What I'm really going for is invincibility. I do not

want to die of an unnatural death, meaning, being killed by someone. I'd

rather live a full, healthy, happy life without worrying about some evil

person planting a ki blast in my back or whatever. I can still fight for the

good of the universe and not have to worry about dying while I do it.

Immortality is really cool, but a little far-fetched. However, Russ

misunderstood me and he thinks that I DO want immortality. But I doubt

he'd want me wishing for invincibility either. He's against cheating death."

Jordan nodded his head. "No offense, but I am as well. There is

no feeling of satisfaction of winning a battle when you know you can't be

killed."

"I see. I haven't thought of it that way. And being a saiyan, I do

take pleasure in defeating an opponent."

Again, Jordan nodded. "So what are you going to do?"

Zorpheus smiled. "Maybe I'll go for immortality anyway. I can

live for a few thousand years, and when I feel that I've had enough, I can

simply wish for it to be taken away. I could really piss Russ off by doing

that," he said with a chuckle.

Jordan shook his head and grinned. "I'm not going to get involved

in this one. Do what you please, and take care of yourself," he said,

slowing down and pointing toward a large spaceport. "Your challenger

waits in there. Just go to the front gate and ask for Pyramid, and that you'd

like to train with her. The guards should have no problem accommodating

your request."

Zorpheus smiled and extended his hand. "Thanks a lot, my friend.

You've been most helpful."

Grasping his hand in his own, Jordan smiled, shook his hand, and

after a quick goodbye, flew off back in the direction from which they came.

"Well, this place certainly looks lively," he said, looking at the

gigantic starships and transports that littered the ground. Platforms nearly a

mile high were scattered throughout what seemed to be a ten square mile

patch of land, situated in a large valley. Transports and starships of all

sizes, shapes, and colors were parked at many of the available ports, held in

place by tractor beams or sitting on the platforms, using their landing gear.

Fighter bays were positioned in various places throughout the port, and

thousands of people were out on the tarmac, waving flags around or

directing traffic.

A monstrous transport fired its engines and began to lift off from

one of the platforms, rumbling the ground and making an extreme amount

of noise. It had several strips positioned around the outer hull of the ship,

and Zorpheus, being both a trekker and warsie, recognized them as phaser

arrays. As it lifted off into the sky, it slowly turned toward Zorpheus's

position and began to move forward, making the noise level increase as it

brought the throttle up to the take-off position. After a few moments, it

flew over Zorpheus's head, creating such a racket that Zorpheus had to

cover his ears, and even then the noise level was almost unbearable. The jet

wash from its engines caused him to have to shield his face. The transport

lumbered higher into the atmosphere and then vanished, a star-like flash

marking its position as it left the planet's gravity well and made it into outer

space.

"Those things are damn loud. Ugh," he mumbled, flying toward

the front gate and then touching down.

Walking toward the checkpoint, he poked his head inside the

office. "Hello in there. Can someone assist me?"

One of the guards who was on duty looked up from his control

panel and nodded his head. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Greetings. Can you tell me where I can find a soldier known as

Pyramid? I was told she was stationed at this base."

Cocking his eyebrow skeptically, the guard got to his feet and

made his way over to Zorpheus. "Who wants to know?"

"Um Well, my name is Zorpheus, and I would like to fight her,

if that is possible," he said, meekly.

The guard's eyes went wide for an instant, and then he started

chuckling. Turning away from the door, he looked at the other guard who

was on duty. "Hey Qeuedl, this guy wants to fight Pyramid. Isn't that the

most ridiculous thing you've ever heard?"

Having a mouthful of some beverage he was drinking, he

swallowed it in a deliberately loud gulp. "What? Why? Do you have a

death wish?"

Zorpheus stood by calmly and smiled. "No. Now, can you please

tell me where I can find Pyramid?"

Ladre shook his head. "It's your life, but she's probably going to

hand your ass to you in two seconds. Well, Qeuedl, go ahead and page her.

Tell her to come to the front entrance, and that there is a challenger here

who wants to fight her."

"Yes sir," he answered, as he keyed a few commands and made the

announcement over the base-wide intercom system for everybody to hear.

Several soldiers who were marching past the front gate stopped and looked

at the newcomer and shook their heads, but they stayed in position, wanting

to see the match. Several other people were approaching the gate as well.

Zorpheus poked his head back into the office. "Why did you have

to go and do that?"

"What? You didn't want anybody to watch you get your ass

handed to you on a silver platter? The entire base knows her and knows

how she can fight. Whenever she fights, we televise it via closed circuit TV

to the base. Everybody loves to see her open up a can of whoop-ass."

Groaning to himself, Zorpheus shook his head. "Alright, alright.

Where is she?"

"She should be out here any minute. Very beautiful and very

talented, you'll know her when you see her."

"I've never seen a female of your species before. Can't you tell

that I'm not from your planet?" Zorpheus asked.

"Now that you mention it, you resemble a saiyan."

Zorpheus grinned. "Correct."

"HOWEVER, saiyans don't exist anymore. Frieza destroyed their

home world."

"And what you didn't know, didn't hurt us. There was another

colonized world far, far away from planet Vegeta. Our race has survived.

And you're looking at a saiya-jin," Zorpheus said, proudly.

Both soldiers looked at him in surprise. "You're kidding!"

Again, Zorpheus smiled. "Nope. And I bet you guys think the

legend of the super saiyan is also fake."

"Of course. None ever existed."

"Man, you guys must have been really isolated or something. A

saiyan warrior named Goku killed Frieza. He became a super saiyan and

nearly annihilated him on Namek, and then Prince Vegeta's son, Trunks,

finished him off when he went to Earth. Frieza is dead and super saiyans do

exist. You're looking at one," Zorpheus said ominously, drawing himself

up to his full height as he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind.

Turning around, he looked into the deep green eyes of Pyramid,

the strongest warrior on planet Xnafu. She was a good six inches shorter

than Zorpheus, and she looked extremely unusual. She did have female

anatomy, but it was placed under her scale armor, creating a rather unusual

bulge around her chest area. Other than that, she pretty much looked like

Cell again, except her skin tone was more orange than red. She smiled and

extended her hand.

"Hello," she said, in a light, sweet voice, completely unlike the

voices of the males of her race, and causing Zorpheus to turn a few shades

of crimson. "I'm Pyramid. It's a pleasure to meet you, mister?"

"Um err eh My name is Zorpheus. The pleasure is mine,"

he said, grasping her hand and giving it a gentle shake. "Yes, a great

pleasure."

She smiled and nodded her head. "Shall we get busy? I have

some things I need to take care of, so, no offense, but I have to end this

fairly quickly. I hope you're stronger than you look. Your clothes are a

mess."

"Well, I fought against a guy named Jordan, which explains why

my clothes are torn to shreds. I went easy on him. I wanted to spar and not

destroy. But it helps my power level if I get beat up several times.

Anyway, I'm extremely surprised to learn that a female is the strongest on

the planet," Zorpheus said, a wide grin on his face as he scratched the back

of his head. "Most of the time, it's a super huge guy who is the strongest."

Giggling quietly to herself, she smiled. "Well, I don't think I'll

disappoint you. Ladre?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Do you have the security cameras on and recording?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay, great. Come on out this way, Zorpheus, so we don't do too

much damage to the base," she said, pulling on his arm and leading him

about a mile away. "This should do nicely."

Zorpheus bowed and removed his cape, exposing the hilt of his

sword and his incredibly muscular arms. He cracked his knuckles and

stretched himself a bit. "I'm ready to begin whenever you are."

Before Zorpheus even knew what happened, she appeared in front

of him and planted a fist directly into his head, knocking him back almost a

quarter mile, creating a massive trench and an earthshaking crash.

"Holy shit," he groaned, trying to pick himself up out of the dirt

"Did anybody catch the number of that bus?" he muttered as he lay back

down in his hole, resting a moment.

"Is that it? I thought you said you were strong," she said, sounding

disappointed. "Well, if that's it, I must be going. Come back when you're

ready."

"Hold up," Zorpheus said, standing up and brushing the dirt off his

armor. He shook his head around to clear his head of the cobwebs that

swam around in his brain.

"Yes?"

"I had no idea you wanted to skip the warm-up. Well, okay. I'll

skip it too," he said, tightening his fists. His hair stood on end and instantly

turned gold, his energy yellow, and his eye the unusual sea green. Once

again, he became a super saiyan and looked at her, while her face expressed

absolute disbelief.

"Oh, no way!! You ARE a super saiyan?!"

Zorpheus laughed. "You're about the fifth person who has said

that."

"I've never seen one before, and your energy has just gone through

the roof. You are going to be a worthy challenger. I haven't had a good

fight in years!" she said, clenching her fists and causing her violet ki to

explode around her in a fireball. "Lets warm it up a few notches!"

The ground under her feet disintegrated, forming a huge crater as

the dirt further away from her cracked and split in a violet earthquake. Dirt

chunks and rocks flew away from her at outrageous speed, pelting Zorpheus

and causing him to shield his face once more. Quickly putting up a ki

shield in front of him, he watched her power up to levels beyond what he

expected from a girl, but only about half as high as the maximum level the

computer onboard his spacepod indicated. This was going to be an

interesting fight.

"I'm ready now," she invited.

Instantly appearing in front of her, he smashed his fist into her

head, blasting her back about a quarter mile. She made a super long trench

when she landed on the ground.

Everybody back at the base gasped in surprise, as nobody had ever

done that to her. Slowly, she picked herself up out of the dirt and ground

her teeth.

"Okay, wise guy. Now we're even. Let's get this show on the

road!"

"Yes ma'am," Zorpheus said, and then lunged at her.

Massive thunderclouds began forming over the Misaki household,

and a distant rumble of thunder marked the coming of the storm. Lightning

began flashing through the sky, and the wind picked up, stirring the fallen

leaves and flower petals that were scattered on the ground. Ryoko had

gotten off of the roof and teleported over to where Russ, Sasami, and

Washu were standing, as they watched the phenomenon in awe and fear.

Tenchi and Aeka had burst out of the house as well, wondering what was

going on. Several more thunderclaps rumbled the ground and in the pit of

their stomachs, as the clouds swirled like a hurricane over Tenchi's home.

It grew darker, like it would be late in the day, and the temperature dropped

to about seventy degrees from the warm eighty-five that they had about five

minutes ago.

"This can't be happening!" Sasami cried, clenching onto Russ's

arm. The little princess was shaking with the rush of adrenaline and fear.

"We killed him! He's supposed to be dead! Washu?!"

"I don't understand. The dimensional cannon made a direct hit!"

Washu said, summoning her phantom laptop, and then started typing in a

frenzy. "There is no mistake. It's definitely Kain."

"WHAT?!" Tenchi yelled, now standing by everybody else.

Ryoko stood next to him, as she looked skyward, watching the lightning

and listening to the thunder as it rumbled throughout the valley. "How the

hell could he be alive?!"

"I don't know!" Washu yelled, irritated. "Calm down, everyone.

We're going to have to get him back into subspace. I'll have to find another

way to destroy him."

Lightning began streaking down to the ground at an alarming rate,

zapping the same spot over and over as a black aura formed in the middle of

it. The noise level was extremely high, causing Sasami to cover her ears

and scream in terror. Russ stood next to her and laid his hand on her

shoulder, pulling her close and shielding her from the bright flashes and

loud thunderclaps. The wind was incredible, forcing everybody shielded

his or her faces from the scene, except for Russ, who glared at the spectacle

in concentration.

The ball of dark energy grew bigger, and several other radically

different bolts of lightning began streaking inward toward the ball,

energizing it with their energy. A white face and two white hands slowly

became visible, as the wind slowly died down, the lighting ceased, and the

distant rumbles of thunder continued.

Standing at a terrifying ten feet tall, Kain, the most power villain

that planet Jurai, Tenchi, or any other opposing force had ever faced, stood

in front of the terrified group, a crude, evil, heartless smile on his face. He

laughed, but his mouth didn't move. His eyes were nothing but black orbs

that held no emotion. His body had no definition at all, and he looked only

like a black aura, always changing shape.

Slowly, he raised a finger and pointed it directly at Tenchi. "You,

and your family, are going to parish at my hand," he rumbled, his mouth

motionless, except for a chilling grin.

Tenchi wrapped his fingers around the master key, and withdrew it

from his brown robe. Ryoko, Washu, and Aeka all looked at him, their

faces terrified of what was going to happen.

"Listen, everyone," he began, but was interrupted.

"I know what you're thinking Tenchi, and the answer is no,"

Ryoko said, looking at him with her most serious expression. "You're not

fighting him alone. No way, no how."

"I'm sorry, Ryoko, but this is the way it has to be. Because of him,

my mother died before I really ever had a chance to know her. And by all

rights, he should be dead too, but WE FAILED!" he yelled, tears forming at

the corners of his eyes. "He took my mother away from me, and he'll pay

for it with his life. I appreciate you wanting to help me, but it's none of

your business, and I don't want you involved. It's my job to protect you,

not the other way around."

Ryoko looked at him in stunned hurt. "Tenchi! You can't be

serious! You CAN'T WIN!" she screamed. "Let me help you! Please!"

"No. Now"

"Tenchi, you're being stupid," Washu interrupted. "It's going to

take all of us to beat him."

"I have the lighthawk wings to protect me this time," Tenchi said,

igniting his sword. The blue blade hummed with radiant Jurai energy and

cast a light blue glow on everybody's face. "I'll be fine," he said, and then

smiled.

"But Tenchi!" Ryoko started, and then stopped. Watching him,

she realized that it was no use arguing with him. "Tenchi, if you get killed,

I'm killing myself and coming after you, you idiot," she whispered.

"Don't talk nonsense, Ryoko. If I die, I want you to go on living.

Leave this place and get as far away from him as you can. Take everybody

with you and flee."

Ryoko shook her head as several tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I'm only alive now to be with you. Without you, I have no reason to exist

anymore."

Tenchi stopped and stared at her saddened face and realized how

much he meant to her. Carefully caressing her face in his hand, he gave her

a light kiss on her lips, savoring the moment, as it could be his last. "I'll be

careful Ryoko. If your survival depends on mine, then I'll live. I promise."

Ryoko somehow managed to smile, and she sniffled, and then

nodded her head. "Okay. Go get him, Tenchi."

"That goes for the rest of you. Nobody help me, as I'm going to

do this on my own."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Tenchi?" Russ asked. "I

understand the warrior ways. If you do not want help, we will not give it. I

hope you yourself understand what you're asking."

"I do."

Russ stared into Tenchi's brown eyes, which were taken over by an

incredible amount of sheer anger, concentration, and determination. After a

moment, he smiled. "Okay. Good luck, Tenchi."

"You're not seriously going to let him fight alone, are you?!" Aeka

said, wide eyed as she stared into Russ's face.

"Yes. He feels his honor has been violated, and he feels the need

for vengeance for his mother. I understand how he feels perfectly," Russ

said quietly, as Tenchi slowly made his way over to the dark form.

"How could you?!" Aeka nearly yelled, becoming hysterical.

"How could you possibly know what he's feeling?"

Russ looked at her with the sad eyes that he usually had when he

was alone. "I know."

Taken aback, she looked down toward his hand, which was

clenched into a tight fist. Turning her head away from him and toward

Tenchi, who stopped about halfway between the group and Kain, she

recited a silent prayer to herself, hoping for a miracle.

"Don't worry, Aeka," Russ said, placing his free hand on her

shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Aeka wrapped her arms around Russ and buried her face in his

green gi, hugging him tightly. "I believe you, Russ."

Russ watched Tenchi, as he stood alone, defiant, against what

seemed to be an invincible foe. Raising his sword up and wrapping his

other hand around the hilt, he crouched down slightly. "You caused my

mother's death, Kain."

"She was the only one capable of stopping me. But it wasn't

enough."

"How did you survive the dimensional cannon?" Tenchi asked, his

hands becoming sweaty from clenching the sword Tenchi in an ironclad

grip.

"It would've worked well, if the ball had detonated."

Washu stared, horrified, at this revelation.

"It didn't explode?" Tenchi asked, not wavering in the least.

"No."

"It's a shame you decided to come back here. My mother is gone,

but I'm not, and I'm going to send you straight to hell."

Kain smiled, sending chills down everybody's spine except for the

two warriors, Tenchi, and Russ. Sasami remained clenched onto Russ's

waist, her face buried in his stomach, not wanting to turn and face the

scariest enemy she had ever known.

"You're welcome to try, Prince of Jurai," Kain taunted.

Tenchi leapt into the air, and with a loud battlecry, he brought his

sword down onto Kain's awaiting form. However, the black mass caught

the sword and held Tenchi several feet above the ground. As he dangled

there, a look of pure hatred on Tenchi's face, Kain, taking his free hand,

swatted Tenchi away into the nearby mountain where he slammed into the

ground, causing him to cough up a mouthful of slimy crimson. It dribbled

down the side of his mouth as he clutched his chest in pain.

"TENCHI!" Ryoko screamed, jumping into the air and beginning

to move toward him. However, Russ instantly appeared in front of her with

his arms spread wide, almost causing Sasami and Aeka to fall over, as he

disappeared before they let go.

"Land. You will respect his wishes, if you truly love him," Russ

said, his face blank. Kain noticed Russ for the first time and looked at him

curiously, wondering how he moved with such speed.

Ryoko bared her fangs as her orange sword blazed into existence.

She floated poised, ready to strike. "Get out of my way, or I'll kill you,"

she growled.

"Tenchi is fine, Ryoko. Trust me," Russ said, his face dead

serious.

"How the hell can he be fine?! LOOK AT him?" she said,

trailing off as Tenchi returned to his feet. He had a slight grin on his face,

the trickle of blood still dripping out of the corner of his mouth.

Russ remained directly in front of Ryoko. "He'll be fine, Ryoko.

Be patient, and trust in him."

Ryoko looked back at Tenchi, as a symbol on his forehead

appeared and glowed with radiant energy. That energy, which she had seen

only twice before, had helped save her life twice once from Kagato, and

once from Dr. Clay. Ryoko landed on the ground, extinguishing her sword

while Russ turned around in surprise, wondering what was happening with

Tenchi.

The symbol on Tenchi's head grew brighter in intensity, as his

brown clothes faded away and was replaced with brightly colored battle

armor. Three semi-transparent blades rotated around Tenchi's body, until

one attached itself to his arm, the other seemed to disappear, and when

Tenchi wrapped his hands around the third, it transformed into a really

unusual sword, which was solid and not made of energy.

Russ watched this transformation in awe, his jaw hanging slightly

open. "What just happened?"

"Tenchi is now using the full power of Jurai. Those are the

lighthawk wings that you've heard of before. They only come into

existence when Tenchi's life or others are threatened, and is in a situation

where he can't win without them," Aeka explained, watching Tenchi as she

clung to Russ's arm. Sasami turned her face toward Tenchi, and she dried

her tears. "He hasn't been able to will them into existence, and it seems that

he he has to have a need for them. At least, that's how it has gone so far."

"The lighthawk wings are powerful, but I have no idea what

they're going to do against a being like Kain," Washu said, continually

taking readings from Tenchi, as this is what she had always tried to get him

to do.

Out of nowhere, Kain charged an energy blast and flung it at

Tenchi, blanketing the area in blinding, white light. It raced toward him

and slammed into Tenchi's sword, and then vanished. The lighthawk wing

hummed as it absorbed the energy, and then dissipated it.

"What?!" Kain said in surprise. "So this is the fabled power of the

Lighthawk Wings. Very impressive."

Swinging the sword around his body, Tenchi leapt into the air once

again and this time flew over to Kain, making one long swipe down the

center of his body, but Kain was gone. Tenchi landed on the ground and

looked above him, where the black mass was speeding toward him with is

arm outstretched. Casually, Tenchi stepped aside as Kain drove his fist and

fingers into the ground in a thunderous explosion, creating a small crater.

Kain returned to a standing position and smiled. Instantly tossing

another energy ball at Tenchi, he vanished and re-appeared behind him, and

drove his hand to the back of Tenchi's neck. However, the lighthawk wing

that was attached to his arm as a shield appeared in front of Kain's hand and

blocked the attack. The contact of Kain's hand and the lighthawk wing

sparked an energy surge that sent Kain back several paces, causing him to

roar in pain. His hand and Tenchi's lighthawk wing were both smoking, but

both unscathed. The energy blast that was fired had hit Tenchi's armor and

fizzled out.

Once again, Kain made another offensive attack, using a

combination of an energy blast to Tenchi's back, vanishing and reappearing

in another spot and launching a second energy blast, then disappeared and

reappeared in a third spot, and again tried to drive his hand into Tenchi's

head. However, the lighthawk wing that was behind Tenchi absorbed the

energy ball that Kain launched, Tenchi's armor absorbed the second energy

attack, and Tenchi used his sword to block Kain's hand, which when they

made contact created the same feedback effect, knocking him back several

paces.

"What is he doing, Russ?" Sasami asked, watching the two through

frightened eyes.

"Kain is probing him for a weakness. So far, he hasn't found one.

Those Lighthawk Wings offer a great deal of protection. I wonder what

else they can do," Russ explained, still watching the confrontation in

complete focus.

"Unfortunately, I think Tenchi does have a limit. There may be a

level that Tenchi cannot block, but Kain is fully capable of generating.

Right now, he hasn't even begun using his power," Washu described,

pulling up diagrams on her computer screen, continually taking

measurements. However, she wasn't the only one watching the fight.

"My Lady, the boy is using the Lighthawk Wings once again."

"It's been a while since he used them last."

"Yes. Shall we take a record of the battle?"

"I want to learn what my sister has been up to, and how her

weapon is progressing."

"I understand. I will begin recording the battle at this moment.

Setting up all necessary scans and measuring devices. Setting timeframe."

Smiling, she watched the battle between Kain and Tenchi begin to

unfold, however, her servant, D3, noticed something odd.

"Excuse me, Lady Tokimi, but there is something strange about

some of the individuals. Tenchi has an extraordinary amount of Jurai power

and the foe he is fighting, known as Kain, also has an unusual amount of

dark energy. However, there is one other there who has a large amount of

energy as well. LIFE energy, or ki energy."

Her smile slowly vanished. "Which individual?"

"That one, My Lady," D3 said, indicating on the screen. A

computer outline traced the outer edges of Russ, who stood next to Aeka

and Sasami. Several diagrams came up, measuring his current energy level,

muscle mass, and estimated potential energy levels.

"Interesting. Who is he?"

"He is known as a saiyan. We currently have no name. However,

their race is supposed to be extinct. We do have sketchy records of another

saiyan from almost a thousand years ago, known as Kakarrot, who was

supposed to be the most powerful being in existence at one point," D3

described. "However, we have no data on how much energy he could

produce, or how powerful the combatants were at his time when he was

alive."

"Hmmm We will have to see what happens. I've never seen a

live saiyan, and it'll be interesting to see what he can do if he becomes

involved."

D3 nodded and faded from existence, leaving Tokimi to watch the

battle.

Thunderous shockwaves and blurs of motion marked the

continuing battle between Zorpheus and Pyramid. At this point, the battle

had gone over thirty minutes, both participants finally starting to show signs

of fatigue from exercising their muscles to the extreme, but Pyramid more

so than Zorpheus. They blurred into existence, exchanged a fast and furious

array of punches and kicks, and then vanished again, several shockwaves

surrounding their former position. The ground from their battle was turned

into what could've passed for the surface of a moon, littered with craters

and other holes. In one spot, lava was spewing up from a fissure, causing

volcanic ash and soot to fly into the violet atmosphere.

Pyramid reappeared and fired a small, yellow ball of energy at

Zorpheus, who swatted it away and returned the attack with a small ball of

his own. She swatted it away and then screamed in pain when Zorpheus

instantly appeared in front of her and buried his fist into her shoulder.

Flying back several meters, she stuck her foot out and rammed Zorpheus in

the face, sending him to the ground.

Watching Pyramid come screaming down out of the sky, Zorpheus

quickly returned to his feet and darted away, causing her to crash land into

his basin. Quickly returning to the air, Zorpheus sensed something behind

him, but before he could react, he was knocked backward from a punch to

his face. Realizing that she had used her enhanced technique to appear

behind him and then in front of him, he spat out a mouthful of blood and

grinned, balling up his fist and Zanzokening directly in front of her,

slamming his foot into her chest. Pyramid flew back several dozen meters,

and then got a psychotic look on her face.

Becoming infuriated, Pyramid used her anger to fuel her strength.

Rushing him at her maximum speed, she began a vicious onslaught of

punches and kicks. All of them looking like a blur, she became even more

frustrated when Zorpheus simply dodged every attack, and to make matters

worse, he was smiling the whole time. Pushing herself to her limit, she

finally managed to land a punch on Zorpheus's face, and then landed nearly

every punch after that. Pounding Zorpheus into pulp, she slowly caused

him to fall back to the ground, pounding him every inch of the way. He

was too dazed to even put up a defense, as she kicked him in what felt like

five places at once. Placing her hands together, she axe-handled him into

his back, sending him down to the ground.

Picking himself back up, Zorpheus wiped a trickle of blood from

the corner of his mouth, and continued to smile. Pyramid landed in front of

him, breathing heavily.

"You are much stronger than I thought," Pyramid said, standing a

short distance away from Zorpheus, who was poised in a defensive stance,

awaiting her next attack. Her toga-like clothing was torn in several places

and bruises littered her body, but for the most part, she felt they were evenly

matched. "I haven't had a challenge like this before. It feels good."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Zorpheus said, then

zanzokened behind her, swinging his foot at her side, but she vanished.

Quickly turning around and throwing a fist out behind him, he landed his

fist in her gut, causing her to double over in pain. Capitalizing on the

situation, he speedily brought his knee up and planted it into her chest,

knocking more wind out of her. Withdrawing his knee, he slammed it again

into her chest, repeated it several more times, making her become almost

immobile. Winding up his fist, he slammed it into the side of her head,

sending her careening off into the valley wall, where she crashed and

created a large hole in the ground.

"MASENKO HAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" he screamed,

sending the yellow beam into the hole where it exploded, causing an entire

section of the valley wall to vaporize in a massive shockwave, sending out

debris as far as the military spaceport. Standing up straight, he panted

heavily, quickly catching his breath from straining himself. He patiently

waited for the dust to clear, and he knew that Pyramid was still alive since

he could still sense her energy, but it was substantially reduced.

After a moment, a massive earthquake shook the ground, and a

huge, violet explosion erupted from the middle of the collapsed

mountainside. Pyramid screamed at the top of her voice, pushing out a

tremendous amount of energy as she cleared out the rubble from her resting

place. Standing tall and having blue blood trickling from several places on

her face, she clenched her fists and screamed, sending her energy as high as

it would go. Her face looked completely insane as her energy level

continued to rise. Moments later she finished, her energy burning brightly

around her battered and bruised form.

Zorpheus grinned, and powered up to her new level, effortlessly.

His golden energy pulsed around him in yellow flame as he prepared for her

attack.

Racing toward him with a terrifying battlecry, she tried to plant her

fist into Zorpheus's face, but he put his hand out in front of him and

blocked it, catching her own fist in his hand, a massive shockwave

emanating from their point of contact. Balling up her other fist, she tried

again to hit him, but he caught her fist in his other hand. He then started to

squeeze, making pain shoot through her fingers, hands, and wrists, causing

her to howl in pain. Not straining very hard, Zorpheus continued to apply

pressure, but Pyramid clenched her jaw tightly, gritting her teeth and trying

her best to fight back. Both of their energy auras danced and mingled with

each other, changing colors where they touched.

Looking Zorpheus in the eye, she brought her leg up and planted it

right between both of his legs. However, it didn't have the desired effect.

Smiling, Zorpheus released one of her hands, doubled up his fist and

punched her in the jaw, sending her flying into the air. Zanzokening above

her, he spun around and put his leg out and smashed it into her head,

sending her back to the soil where she impacted, making another fissure in

the ground. He followed it up with a blue generic energy ball, causing a

small explosion on top of her.

Zorpheus landed on the ground in front of her and smiled, folding

his arms over his chest as he waited for her to return to her feet, which this

time was much slower than the rest.

"Explain something to me," Pyramid said quietly, trying to keep

herself steady as she stood in her hole. "How come you didn't feel anything

when I kicked you in the crotch?"

"Industrial strength jock strap," he replied, simply.

"And why would you keep one down there?" she countered.

Zorpheus grinned. "Being a ladies man, I've been kicked there

quite a few times, so I just got sick of feeling that kind of pain. I put on the

jock strap, no more pain."

Pyramid managed a weak smile, and then rose into the air, slowly.

Landing on the far side of her depression, she placed both her hands out in

front of her. "It's time to finish this with one final attack. Block it if you

think you can, Zorpheus. You are the strongest fighter I've ever faced, and

it has been an honor to meet you."

Zorpheus bowed humbly. "Thank you. But before you go doing

what you're about to do, how are your medical facilities?"

Looking at him in curiosity, she lowered her arms to her sides.

"How come?"

"I'm going to let you hit me with your attack," he responded,

standing up straight and lowering his energy level significantly. "The

closer I come to death from a fight, the stronger I get when I heal."

"I've heard about that. So it's true then?"

"Yes. Even though I'm not a hundred percent saiyan, it is one of

the dominant traits that had surfaced within me. If you hit me with your

attack and nearly kill me, when I heal, I'll be considerably stronger,"

Zorpheus explained.

"I see. Well, to answer your question, we have the newest

regeneration tanks that are available to the military. It should be able to

heal physical wounds on a person of your size in as little as twenty

minutes."

"Excellent. That sounds good." Zorpheus spread his arms wide

and smiled. "Hit me with your best shot," he challenged.

"One last question," she began. "How much were you holding

back? Seriously?"

"Heh. I'm at about half strength right now. If I had gone to full

strength, you wouldn't have had a chance," Zorpheus said quietly.

"I see. Thanks again, Zorpheus."

"Not a problem. Lets see what this attack of yours is made of,"

Zorpheus invited, turning his palms outward and relaxing slightly.

Pyramid grinned weakly, and then nodded her head. Again placing

both of her hands out in front of her, cupping each hand and pointing them

toward each other in front of her midsection, she began to charge her most

powerful energy attack. Red steaks of energy began to arc between her two

palms as a small ball formed in between them.

"ITSU" she yelled, as the ball of energy grew in size, intensity,

and brightness. Zorpheus raised both of his eyebrows at the radical amount

of power this attack was generating, and he mentally prepared himself to be

blown away, but not killed.

"MASHA"

Her voice echoed around the area, making it all the way back to the

military base, where every single soldier had stopped what he or she were

doing to watch the finale of their battle royal. They had never, ever seen

her make this attack on a person before, and they couldn't believe that the

individual that she had fought was able to take her on. However, they

couldn't quite figure out why he stood there with his arms spread wide,

awaiting her attack.

"ZELU"

The red energy between her hands had gotten so intense that she

could barely contain it any longer. Her hands were straining with all the

willpower she could muster, trying to keep from losing control and letting it

explode on her instead of Zorpheus. It was so powerful and bright that it

could be seen from orbit. Clouds and wind churned and spun near and

around her, as she finished charging the most powerful attack that her race

had created. Pyramid looked at Zorpheus, her face contorted with strain,

and she managed a chilling smile.

"KUNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" she screamed, releasing the red

orb from her hands and flinging it at Zorpheus. It was extremely small,

moved slowly, but had an astounding amount of energy gathered in it.

Zorpheus's eyes went wide as he increased his energy to a safer level, and

watched the ball move toward him. When it got to about a foot away from

him it detonated, creating a concentrated but utterly extraordinary explosion

that peeled away every living thing within a mile radius. Pyramid shielded

herself, but she had hardly any energy left to defend herself from her own

attack, and as a result she was blown away like a leaf in a hurricane. The

entire planet shook from the ferocity of the shockwave that was created, and

the noise from the explosion was deafening.

The spectacle lasted nearly thirty seconds until the light slowly

faded away, revealing all the damage that was done. Nothing was left

except for Zorpheus, who was barely breathing. He lay in the bottom of a

bowl, the heat of the Itsumashazelukuno bomb turning the sand, clay, and

dirt into dirty glass. Bleeding from several wounds on his body, he had

become normal during the explosion, his hair and eyes having returned to

black and his muscle mass becoming normal once again. He was badly

burned in several places, especially his arms and legs. The artificial arm

was sparking from several gouges that were caused by flying debris.

Several thousand feet away, Pyramid somehow managed to drag

herself to her feet, also singed in several places, breathing heavily. Barely

able to make herself walk over to the glass crater, she stumbled and fell

face-first into the dirt. Her vision went black as she passed out from

exhaustion, the distant sound of a siren wailing in her ears.

Staring each other down, both of their eyes filled with intense

hatred, Kain and Tenchi continued to square off, neither making any

progress on the other. They had punched, kicked, and sliced at each other,

but neither had acquired any physical damage as of yet. It had been a slow

battle as Kain was still testing Tenchi's abilities, and hadn't used the bulk of

his energy as of yet. Sasami hung onto Russ's arm and Aeka stood very,

very close to him, but not touching. Ryoko stood nearby, her face a mask

of concern. She desperately wanted to go out there and help, but she knew

that she didn't stand a chance against a being like Kain, and at Tenchi's

current level, she knew that he had far surpassed her. Washu concentrated

on her computer and the battle, continually taking readings and making a

visual record. She had devoted nearly all the processing power of her lab to

measuring the battle. Azaka and Kamidake were nearby, quietly conversing

amongst themselves. Katsuhito was still up in the shrine, however, he

watched the battle unfold from the top of his hill, silently encouraging

Tenchi to fight onward.

Skipping a few steps forward and then charging the black mass,

Tenchi swung his sword in a horizontal slash, trying to cut Kain in half,

however, Kain leapt back several meters, letting the blade whip through his

former position. Gathering a small, white energy ball in his hand, Tenchi

flung it at the ground directly underneath Kain, where it exploded in a

vertical tower of white energy. When the brightness faded away, Kain was

still there, smiling that hellish grin of his.

"I've had enough of this. If I cannot defeat you like this, I'll do

what I was going to do with your mother, and ABSORB YOU!" he roared,

drawing himself up to his full height and opening the white portal within his

mass. Acting like a vacuum cleaner, it began to create a strong wind, trying

to push Tenchi toward him.

"TENCHI!" Ryoko yelled. "Fight it! Come on! You have to do

something!"

Kain chuckled to himself, his voice sounding deep enough to

rumble the ground he stood on. "After I absorb you, house of Jurai, I'll

absorb your friends as well," he taunted.

Tenchi stood in front of him, his hair being blown forward from

the rush of the wind, but he didn't move. Not from the force of the wind,

anyway. Slowly making his way toward Kain, Tenchi steadily placing one

foot in front of the other, he walked over to the mass and stopped about

three feet from the portal opening, everybody gasping in horror at how

reckless Tenchi was being.

Kain looked at him in curiosity, and then in horror. Tenchi

brought his sword up and brought it down through the blackness, causing

purple goop to spew from Kain. Roaring in pain and anguish, Kain closed

the portal and then drove his fist into Tenchi's stomach. Using an

incredible amount of force, he managed to partially break through the

lighthawk wing armor, and Tenchi was smashed back several hundred feet

where he skidded to a halt, somehow managing to keep his balance and

remain on his feet. However, Tenchi was severely weakened from such a

forceful blow, that one of the lighthawk wings flickered for several

moments, and then returned to its normal phase.

"So, you DO have a weakness, Prince of Jurai," Kain said,

covering his wound, which was near his right shoulder.

Tenchi watched him in determined anger, his face betraying the

fear he suddenly felt in his mind. Standing up straight once again, he made

his lighthawk sword disappear, and then placed both of his hands directly in

front of him as his body became contorted with strain, forcing a tremendous

amount of energy into an orange ball that had formed in front of him. Just

before he flung it at his arch nemesis, his target disappeared. Looking

around in astonishment, he felt a sharp pain in his back, where Kain had

buried his fingers into Tenchi's lung. Unable to scream, he coughed up a

mouthful of blood as Kain withdrew his fingers out of Tenchi's back, his

white hand covered in crimson, and Tenchi fell forward, his face in the dirt.

However, he didn't lose any of the energy that he had gathered. Rolling

onto his back, he placed both his hands directly at the ten-foot tall demon

and released it all at once. An ultimately bright orange light flooded the

entire valley, causing nearly everybody to shield his or her eyes from the

incredible amount of raw Jurai power that Tenchi released. An unholy roar

from Kain was the last thing they heard while the entire area became a

blinding, orange light.

Several moments later the glare ceased, and everybody could see

what was left. Tenchi lay on the ground, his armor gone. Cuts, abrasions,

and bruises littered his body, a small river of blood coming from both

Tenchi's mouth, nose, and a small cut from his forehead over his left eye.

His breathing was labored, but he was alive.

There was no sight or sign of Kain anywhere. No trace of a fried

corpse or anything physical from him.

Everybody ran up to Tenchi and he opened his eyes, and then

smiled. "I did it," he whispered, his voice garbled. "I actually did it."

"Yes you did, Tenchi," Ryoko said, smiling. "I can't believe it,

but you've done it. I'm so proud of you. Goddamn, I love you more than

anything. Praise Tsunami that you survived."

"I'm afraid it isn't over," Russ said, his face dead serious.

Everybody turned to stare at him in horror, except for Washu.

"It is over. Where is Kain if it isn't over?"

Russ glared at her. "I know you can sense energy. I can still sense

Kain, clear as day. He's been weakened, but he is still very much alive."

Washu reached into a subspace portal and withdrew Russ's

scouter. "This will tell me for sure. I enhanced it too. It can go five times

higher than what it was capable of before," Washu said, placing it on her

right ear. It stuck itself to her head, and she turned it on. The little screen

came to life and began calculating energy levels for everybody. However, it

found an energy level much higher than anybody else's, but it could not

find a source. After a moment, it beeped, displaying an arrow to the right,

and it recalculated the super high energy level. Turning her head toward a

forming black mass, she stepped back in horror.

"No" Washu said, unable to articulate an objection any better

than that.

Russ stood over Tenchi's broken and battered form. "Are you able

to continue the fight?"

"What the hell are you talking about?! Look at him! He can't

fight anymore!" Ryoko yelled, clenching her fist and venting her pent up

stress on Russ.

Ignoring her outburst, Russ continued to look into Tenchi's eyes.

He was barely able to move. "Do you want me to finish this for you? I can,

but only if you give me permission to."

Tenchi smiled and nodded his head.

"Okay. You did very well. I'm extremely impressed, but now it is

my turn," he said, turning toward the little blue haired princess. "Sasami?

Remember the healing technique I showed you? Use it on Tenchi. Now.

He needs help," Russ ordered, looking at the little princess.

Sasami stepped back a pace and looked at Russ, looking very small

and scared. "I can't! I haven't had any practice or anything. I don't know

how!" she objected.

Russ smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder while the dark aura

became much larger several hundred feet away. "You have everything you

need to make this work. Tenchi needs your help. You can do this," Russ

encouraged.

Sasami gazed at him as if he were a saint. Becoming determined,

she nodded her head. "I'll do my best," she said, approaching Tenchi.

"Lay still. I hope this works."

"It'll work, Sasami. You're both of Jurai," Russ said, simply.

"But it won't work on me, unfortunately. But I'll be fine," he said with a

smile.

"Let me help you, Russ," Aeka asked looking determined. "I can

help you."

Turning toward her, looking her in the eye, he shook his head.

"Don't be rediculous. You stay back here and protect everybody. I'll be

fine."

"But"

"No," Russ interrupted her. "Just do as I say, and everything will

be fine."

Clenching her fists, she hung her head. Ryoko approached her and

laid a hand on her shoulder. "He's right. Tenchi couldn't do it, so the only

one left is he. And I believe he can do it."

"I feel so useless," Aeka said quietly, hanging her head. "All of

these problems are always caused by you or I, but we're never able to help."

"Shhh" Ryoko whispered. "Look."

Raising her eyes to where Russ had walked out to, she fixated her

gaze on the black form that stood several hundred meters in front of him.

However, the mass had continued to grow, and it formed into a huge,

horrid, black dragon. Nearly forty feet tall, it roared, purple blood still

present on its body as it locked its gaze on Tenchi, and then on the

individual who separated himself from the group.

"Are you of the house of Jurai?" it rumbled, and then hissed, his

purple tongue darted in and out of his mouth.

"No. But you're going to fight me now. And lose," Russ replied.

Clenching his fists, Russ's face became a hard glare, as several

yellow bolts of lightning streaked through the sky. Kain watched him in

amazement, wondering where this tremendous buildup of energy was

coming from.

The scouter over Washu's ear beeped a warning and focused on

Russ. The numbers climbed at an alarming rate. Fifty million seventy

million eighty million ninety million one hundred million and

upon reaching its limit, it exploded. Washu shouted an obscenity at the

surprise, but she was uninjured.

"What the hell is happening to him?!" Washu said, her eyes wider

than they had ever been. "That scouter could go up to a hundred million,

and he just made it explode!"

"What is happening to that man, D3?" Tokimi asked, continuing to

monitor the battle. She had watched the entire fight, and at one point,

expressed fear at Tenchi's abilities.

"I do not know, my lady," he replied. "His energy keeps going up.

He has far surpassed Tenchi, and he's reaching the limit of our equipment."

"Keep measuring him. I want to see what is happening and I want

a complete readout of his potential."

"Yes, Lady Tokimi."

Everybody continued to watch him in terrified awe, as a bolt of

lightning struck the ground nearby and grew more intense in the

atmosphere. His aura had become visible, however, this time it pulsed

instead of roared around him. His energy was golden, instead of his usual

green or red. The wind picked up around him a little and his hair stood on

end, as if it were reaching to the sky. In a blinding golden flash and a shout

from Russ, his hair changed from black to gold, his muscle mass doubled,

and his eyes became sea green. As the flash dissipated, he stood, gold

energy pulsing around him and his golden hair waving in the wake of his

energy.

The monitors that were watching Russ began to short circuit and

explode from his awesome transformation to super saiyan. After a

hailstorm of sparks and flying glass only one monitor remained, fizzling,

barely able to hold a steady picture.

"I don't believe it. There is an individual who possesses far more

power than we thought," Tokimi said, calmly, but her face denied the fear

that flooded her mind.

D3 watched dumbfounded, unable to come up with an explanation.

"Do not take any more readings of him. Just make a visual record

for now and we'll have to estimate those energy levels," Tokimi ordered.

"Yes, my lady," he said, turning off all the scanning equipment.

Waking up from what felt like a dream world, Zorpheus felt no

more pain. Feeling rather light and warm all over, he drew in another deep

breath and let it out slowly, and then opened his eyes. Realizing that he was

floating in water, he looked through the glass into the medical bay of the

military's spaceport. Across the room from him, Pyramid was also sitting

in a regeneration tank, just then regaining consciousness. Her eyes opened

slowly and then fixated on Zorpheus. He smiled, and then realized that he

still had an oxygen mask covering half his face, so he gave her a thumbs up.

She did the same, and they both patiently waited for the doctors to release

them from their tanks. The tanks began beeping and a nurse entered the

room, noting their physical condition, and then programming the tanks to

drain. A few moments later, the doors to both capsules opened, releasing

them from their imprisonment. However, there was a slight problem.

"Aw, son of a WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES!?" Zorpheus

roared, suddenly realizing he was butt naked in front of several women.

Quickly covering his private parts, his entire face became the shade of a

well-done lobster, not even realizing that his artificial arm had been

repaired.

However, Pyramid didn't have any qualms about getting out of her

capsule. She looked at Zorpheus and giggled. "There's nothing to be

ashamed of. We're all adults here," she said slyly, making her own face

blush slightly and causing Zorpheus's face to almost turn purple.

"ARE YOU NUTS?" he shouted, looking like he was going to pass

out. "If I were in front of guys, it wouldn't matter as much!"

Again, Pyramid giggled. "Embarrassed to be seen naked in front

of a woman? Especially one that almost blew you away?"

Zorpheus shook his head rapidly and tried to hide behind the

capsule. "No, that's not it, now will someone PLEASE bring me some

clothes?"

The nurse shook her head and smiled, and then reached behind her

that had a chair with a fresh change of clothes on it. She tossed it over the

tank to Zorpheus, who speedily put all of it on. It wasn't quite his style of

clothing, being a simple toga, but it was better than nothing. Slowly

coming out from behind the capsule, he looked at Pyramid, who was

smiling widely. Suddenly realizing that she was still naked, his eyes

wandered downward to her chest.

"Mmmm, like what you see, Zorphy?" she asked, striking a pose.

Snapping his head up and looking her in the eyes, he again started

blushing. "No. I mean, yes. I mean I mean uh I have to go to the

bathroom!" he said, racing out of the room and into the hallway.

"What a strange man," Pyramid said to the nurse, sounding

disappointed. "I guess he's not interested. A pity." She put on her usual

style of toga, as she had several pairs from having her clothes get

disintegrated during her battles.

"I don't know," the nurse said, smiling. "I've never seen anyone

turn as red as he did when he got an eyeful of you, and us of him. I think

it's rather cute."

Sighing dreamily to herself, Zorpheus walked back into the room,

his hair dripping wet.

"Um, what happened to you?" Pyramid asked.

Zorpheus waved his hand in front of her face. "Just don't ask," he

mumbled, trying to not look at her. "At least you're dressed now."

Pyramid smiled and grasped his hand. "Would you please join me

for dinner? I'd very much like that," she invited.

Again blushing, he nodded his head. "Okay. What's on the menu

for tonight?"

"Well, what would you prefer? We have cuisines from several

well known planets, including some really rare stuff from a planet far away

from here, known as Terra."

Zorpheus cocked his eyebrow and looked at her curiously. "That

planet wouldn't happen to also be known as Earth now, would it?"

Looking at him in surprise, she nodded her head. "Yes, actually.

In reality, I really like their food. Even though it doesn't quite satisfy our

nutritional needs, it tastes really good."

"I guess you got most of this stuff from the Americas then, am I

right?" Zorpheus said, grinning.

"Right again! Come on," Pyramid said, leading Zorpheus out of

the medical bay by the arm. "We'll go to my living quarters and eat there

where it's nice and private."

"Uhhh, couldn't we just go to a cafeteria or something?" Zorpheus

asked nervously, his eyes glancing downward to her rear end.

"Don't be so shy, Zorpheus. I don't bite," she whispered

sensually, causing his skin to break out in goosebumps. Even though he

tried to make himself not think about perverted things, he started to become

aroused anyway, even though he continually commanded himself to make it

stop.

"Are you nervous?" she giggled, now holding onto his entire arm,

resting her orange head on his large shoulder. "We're just going to eat

dinner. That's all unless you want something else to happen," she

whispered seductively.

Zorpheus swallowed loudly, his face becoming redder by the

minute. He began to question himself as to why he shouldn't accept such

an offer, after all, he IS the lady's man. The Love Machine is what Russ

used to call him. However, he was unable to complete his train of thought

as they had reached Pyramids quarters. She keyed in the unlock code and

the door slid back into the wall, revealing absolutely extravagant living

arrangements. The color scheme of the entire living room was gray, black,

and white, but it suited it well. A huge entertainment center with a massive

TV, stereo, and other various electronics were placed in it. A black leather

couch was seated across from it, and a beautiful marble coffee table was

sitting in front of that. A loveseat sat adjacent to the couch, and a recliner

was situated across from the loveseat. It all sat on a gorgeous oriental style

rug, which was all designed in gray and black. The walls were lined with

shelves had quite a few items on them, including models of spaceships,

several clocks, and other rare collectors items. Beautiful flowering plants

were spaced perfectly throughout the room, being accented by recessed

lighting in the ceiling. Blacklights were also used to accent the color of the

plants, making them almost glow. Moving onto the kitchen, crystal

glassware was lined up in the cupboards, pots and pans of all types were

hanging on the wall, and the kitchen itself was absolutely huge. A six-

burner stove with an oversized chefs oven was set into the counter, and an

extra large sink was near that. The counter itself was nearly twenty feet

long, and a large island sat on the other side of that, providing even more

counter space and yet another stove. It was absolutely astounding.

Standing there gawking, Zorpheus barely heard Pyramid ask him if

he wanted something to drink. "Oh, uh, sure. Orange juice, if you have it,

please," he managed to ask, scratching the back of his head and smiling.

"Sure," she said, moving over to a hole in the wall. "Two orange

juices, cold," she commanded the replicator. It hummed quietly and two

tall glasses of OJ appeared, which she quickly grasped. She handed one of

the glasses over to Zorpheus and took a sip out of hers.

Thankfully, the orange juice didn't have any pulp, Zorpheus

thought to himself. He was startled out of his thoughts when Pyramid led

him over to the couch and made him sit down. She took a seat right next to

him and took another sip of her juice.

"So, how do you like my living quarters, Zorpheus? It's quite a bit

overkill for me, but I like it," she said, scooting over, trying to get a little

closer to Zorpheus, who watched her nervously out of the corner of his eye.

"It's extremely nice. I know Russ would really like the color

scheme too. It's really, really nice," Zorpheus said, glancing once again

around the room, taking in his large surroundings. "But no offense, I

thought you'd prefer something a little more colorful."

"I got the plants to break up the three primary colors of this room,"

Pyramid said, gesturing to the plants. A huge picture window was behind

the couch that gave a huge view of the spaceport. Strangely enough, it was

super quiet inside her quarters.

"I see. Very nice," he said, when his stomach croaked. He

blushed slightly from embarrassment, and put his hand behind his head. "I

guess I'm kind of hungry. I haven't eaten in three months," Zorpheus

explained.

Pyramid looked at him in shock. "Three months?! My word, I

will have to make you a huge feast in that case," she said, standing up and

rushing to the kitchen. "Unfortunately, I don't have any fresh ingredients to

make anything, so we're going to have to eat replicated food. But these

ones are state of the art and can make anything taste perfectly, and not only

that, it can make as much as we want. I don't know about you, but I have a

voracious appetite!"

"You'd never know it by looking at you," Zorpheus said, suddenly

realizing a nanosecond too late of what he said.

Pyramid blushed. "Thank you for the compliment, Zorphy. Now,

what shall we eat for today?" she said, hitting several buttons on the

replicator, programming it to make large quantities of food.

Lightning danced though the sky, clouds gathered and swirled

around the entire valley, and the sky became an inky black, except for the

horizon that glowed. Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, Sasami, and the two guardians

looked at Russ in complete awe and fear, wondering what had happened to

him. For the first time since he arrived, he became a super saiyan.

"What is this energy?" Kain said to himself, looking at the

golden haired fighter who stood a couple hundred feet away from him. He

had never encountered another being capable of generating energy that

could match the entire Jurian fleet, except during his original capture. But

this guy was doing it all by himself. No galaxy police, no Jurians, just him.

No external sources, nothing.

"You're dead, Kain," Russ growled, staring at the monstrous

dragon. "Get ready to meet your maker."

Kain smiled, baring the hundreds of teeth that lined his jaw.

Gathering up an astronomical amount of energy, he released a massive blast

through his mouth, aimed directly at Russ. Everybody had screamed as the

blast impacted where Russ was standing, sending up a huge explosion and

rocking the local area, breaking windows on the Misaki home. Tenchi was

healed at this point and he returned to his feet, summoning his lighthawk

wings and shielding everybody from the resulting shockwave that erupted

from the point of impact. They watched the spectacle in horror, as they had

never seen Kain use that amount of energy before. The dust and debris was

swiftly cleared away though, as the wind was quite strong. What they saw

totally blew their minds. Russ floated directly over the blast site, as the

ground had cratered under him. He was completely unscathed. Untouched,

as if nothing had even happened. The ground directly behind him was

perfectly fine, also untouched.

"WHAT?!" Kain roared, staring at him in utter surprise.

"Impossible!"

Russ floated to the edge of the crater closest to Kain and landed,

his poker face on and his hands at his sides, not even taking up any kind of

defensive or offensive stance. His ki continued to burn brightly around

him, illuminating the nearby ground.

Snarling menacingly, Kain pulled back his arm, and taking careful

aim, he drove it directly at Russ, intending to smash him into paste.

Everybody gasped when the claw stopped directly in front of Russ. He held

it in his left hand, effortlessly. Kain continued to apply more and more

pressure, straining to cause Russ damage, but he couldn't move.

Changing his poker face to an ice-cold grin, Russ squeezed the

claw, causing a sharp pain to lance back into Kain as he roared in

frustration. Squeezing harder, and as if breaking a toothpick, he tore off the

claw, causing a massive spurt of purple blood to pour out of the hole where

the claw used to be. Kain fell back, roaring in a horrid amount of pain.

Tossing the claw into the air, Russ blasted it into nothingness with a small

beam.

Sasami screamed in horror, but she continued to watch, transfixed

on Russ's new form. Aeka, Ryoko, Tenchi, and Washu didn't say a word

and watched with wide eyes, completely astounded as to what Russ had just

done.

Regaining his footing, Kain stared at him in horror. However,

Russ had put his poker face back on. "What are you?!" he rumbled, unable

to fathom that he could be beaten this easily. Only Achika had possessed

the strength and power to do him in before, and that was with the assistance

of the master key.

Not answering, Russ got into a sprinting position, and then

vanished. Everybody quickly looked around for him, and they noticed a

golden glow directly in front of Kain's chest. A yellow streak marked his

flightpath, leading their eyes directly to him, but they never saw him move.

Russ floated in mid-air, his right arm completely buried in Kain's gut up to

his shoulder. Kain didn't even realize where he had gone until he felt a pain

start throbbing from his midsection. Russ backed off a bit, withdrawing his

arm from the inside of Kain and causing another burst of purple goop from

the hole that was caused. Russ's arm was covered in lilac-colored blood

and it ran off of his fingers like miniature rivers. Feeling extreme pain from

both his front and back, he realized that Russ had not only punched directly

through his armor, but fired a ki blast directly out the back of him too.

Kain again roared as he fell onto his back, riving in pain.

However, Russ grabbed one of his legs and started spinning, lifting him into

the air as he spun faster and faster. Spinning at such a high rate of speed

that it felt like the leg was going to be torn off of his body, he was flung far

into the sky in the direction opposite from where Tenchi and the group were

standing.

Russ floated about ten feet above the ground and watched the

shrinking form of Kain. Slowly cupping his hands out in front of him, he

swung his arms back down to his right side and quietly growled out his

attack. "Ka me ha me ha," he said, the blue ball of energy in his

hands glowing intensely, until he released it in an ultra huge beam, turning

the entire landscape blue with the light from the Kamehameha wave. It

roared out of his hands with such intensity that it created a shockwave,

which peeled away some of the ground he was standing on. It was so

massive that it made the house look tiny, being nearly sixty feet in diameter.

Kain was nearly two miles high, spinning out of control. Finally

regaining his bearings, he stopped spinning and halted his ascent into the

sky. However, his entire surrounding area became blanketed in intense blue

light as Kain looked under him, seeing the leading bulge of the blast

heading straight for him. Looking at it in terror, he could do nothing to stop

its approach, and the last thing he saw was blinding blue light, the beam

catching up to him and overtaking him, his body becoming vapor from the

extreme energy. He roared, but nobody heard it as he was removed from

existence, and ceased to live.

Russ continued to pour energy into the beam making absolutely,

one hundred percent sure that Kain was dead. Discontinuing the beam a

few moments later, he brought his hands back down to his side, landed on

the ground, making his golden aura vanish. However, his yellow hair

remained. The sky cleared up and became a dark violet, as the sun was

setting in the distant horizon, casting a yellow glow on the battlefield. The

birds began to sing once again, and the night insects began their nightly

chorus. It was over. The A1 class criminal Kain had finally been defeated.

Letting his lighthawk wings fade away, Tenchi stood, completely

astounded, as to what he had just seen. Washu, Aeka, Sasami, and Ryoko

all shared his look, as they watched Russ look into the sky at Kain's last

position where he had spent his last breath.

Slowly, Russ turned around and faced the crowd of baffled

onlookers, causing them to gasp in surprise.

"His eyes are green" Aeka whispered. "I would've never

believed this if I hadn't seen it. I think we've been living with a god."

Washu glanced at Aeka. "You don't know how right you are,

Princess," she said to herself. "I think Russ is a god, at least, compared to

us. I hope my computers managed to capture all the data on this fight."

Russ made his way over to the group and came to a stop about five

feet from in front of everybody, and he then smiled. "I win."

"That was a great meal, Pyramid. Thanks a lot. I very much

appreciate it," Zorpheus said, from behind a stack of about fifty dishes. "It

tasted like real food instead of replicated proteins 'n stuff."

Pyramid looked at him with a large sweatdrop on the side of her

head, but she mustered a smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed it, Zorphy."

"Oh yeah. That was delicious." Letting out a large yawn, he

stretched himself out, and then stood up from his position at the dinner

table. "Thank you for the meal and the fight, Pyramid. I really do

appreciate you going out of your way to do me both favors."

"It's nothing. You look tired. Would you like to spend the night

and then you can leave tomorrow morning?" Pyramid offered, flashing him

a seductive smile.

Zorpheus didn't notice it. "Thank you for the offer, but I must

decline. I have to get going if I'm going to make it to Earth within a

reasonable amount of time. It's probably still going to take me nine months

to get there."

Getting up from her seat, she made her way over to Zorpheus and

gently latched onto his arm, pressing her body against his. "Are you sure I

can't change your mind?"

Suddenly realizing what she was after, Zorpheus shook his head.

"I'm really sorry, and I don't mean to offend you, but I just look. I don't

touch. I'm sure you have plenty of people around here who are attracted to

you and stuff. What would happen if they saw you with me? Wouldn't that

make them angry or possibly get you kicked out of the military?"

She shook her head and looked at him with sorrowful eyes. "I

have no interest in any of these men at this place. All of them are weak and

unattractive. You're the ONLY one who has been nice to me and not

perverted like some of the other lechers here at the base. I really like that in

you. Plus you're the only one who has ever defeated me in combat."

Zorpheus looked into her eyes that had nothing but sincerity,

passion, and a desire for him. "Are you SURE you want this?"

Her face lit up like a firework on Jurai's Startica day. "Please?"

Struggling with his internal resolve, he let his heart decide for him.

"Okay."

Letting out a deep sigh, Pyramid smiled and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you."

Cupping his palm in front of him, but behind Pyramid, he

concentrated, and like magic, a protective device appeared in his hand. He

quickly closed his fingers around it and stealthily shoved it in his pocket.

Leading him to her bedchamber, Pyramid gestured to Zorpheus to

lay down as she disappeared behind a bathroom door. Steeling himself up

for this, he slowly let out deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. A few

moments later, she reappeared out of the bathroom, lacking everything but

herself.

"Lay down on your stomach, Zorpheus," she ordered softly. "And

remove your toga. You won't need it."

Doing as he was told, he lay down on his stomach, resting his head

on his pillow. He felt the bed sag a bit when Pyramid got up on it with him,

and then felt her hands begin working his tense muscles, starting at his

shoulders and working around his neck, and then slowly massaging down

his back.

"Mmmm that feels wonderful," Zorpheus mumbled, allowing

his tense muscles to relax a bit.

"I've never done this before with anyone. I hope you enjoy it," she

whispered into his ear, as she got on top of him, continually rubbing down

his back, moving slowly and with steady hands. "So, tell me about where

you're from, Zorphy. I'd like to learn a little bit about you and how you

became a super saiyan and stuff."

Feeling her fingers work a knot out of his back, he groaned in

relaxation. "Well, where should I begin" he started, thinking back a way.

"Well, I was born on a planet far, far away from my home world of

Vegeta."

Pyramid smiled as she continued to work the knots out of his back.

"That's a good start. Keep going," she encouraged softly.

Zorpheus smiled. "As you wish."

"Russ? How come your hair is yellow?" Sasami asked, looking at

the saiyan as if he were someone else, but in complete awe.

Grinning, he knelt down to her level. "This is what I look like

when I become a super saiyan," he answered. "Right now, I'm so strong

that I could annihilate this planet simply by punching it. It's somewhat

difficult to control energy like this, so I prefer not to take this form unless I

have to."

Aeka looked at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "So you're

a super saiyan right now?"

Russ returned to his full height, which was about an inch taller

than he was before, and he turned his attention to the Jurian princess.

"Yeah. My eyes turn green and my hair gold. My energy turns gold too, as

you had seen, and my muscle mass almost doubles."

"I can't believe you defeated Kain so easily," she said, shaking her

head and collapsing to her knees, holding her head in amazement. She

looked at him with sad, sparkling eyes, and sniffled. "I'm sorry I couldn't

help you, Russ. You don't need me, that's for sure."

Catching him completely off guard, Russ looked at her in stunned

silence, his jaw hanging slightly open. "No, no, no," he began. "You're my

friend and I protect my friends. You didn't need to get involved. No

princess should have to get involved in something like that. That's what

I'm here for." Russ smiled and lifted her chin up, being extremely careful

not to exert any energy or excess force. "I need you to be my friend. That's

all. I have had so few in my life, and it's wonderful to be here with you and

everybody else. I don't want anything to change, and I'll make certain that

it doesn't."

"Hey Russ," Washu asked, looking at him as she continued

archiving the battle on her computer. "Are you still more powerful than

what you had just shown us?"

Russ smirked. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

Washu glared at him. "I do have other ways of finding out, you

know. With, or without your help."

Russ stuck his tongue out at her and gave her a raspberry. "Ask

me if I care, Washu," he snapped. "I really can't stand ergh. Never

mind!" he growled, turning away from her. "Go back to your lab and do

whatever it is you do."

"Humph. See if I do you any more favors," Washu snapped.

"Favors don't usually require a form of payment, Washu," Russ

shot back.

Watching the red haired scientific genius call up several

commands on her computer, she placed her finger over a particular key and

glowered at Russ. "If you don't show me more respect, I'll turn you into a

water sprite!"

Russ turned toward her, his face a mask of anger. Raising his

hand, he pointed it directly at her computer. "Do it and I'll vaporize your

computer," he snarled. "My beam is much faster than your finger. And if

you continue to threaten me, I'll do something we'll both regret."

Looking at him in surprise and shock, she couldn't come up with a

suitable retort. "You're not serious, are you?"

"Do I look serious?" he growled.

Thinking twice about threatening him, she lowered her hand and

banished her computer back into subspace. "Okay, you win. You should

still be more respectful to me though."

"I'd be more respectful if you were less arrogant and selfish," Russ

returned, still glaring at her with his green eyes. "I appreciated the very few

favors that you have done and I have always thanked you for them, and I'd

do you favors if you needed them. A thank you would be nice for saving

your life and cleaning up your mistake, Washu."

Caught slightly off guard, her face went blank and she slowly

made her way back to the house, not wanting to argue the point any further.

She didn't say a word.

"Why did you do that? You know I hate it when people fight,"

Sasami whined, pulling on Russ's gi. "Why don't you like Washu?"

"I'm sorry Sasami, but she knows how to push all the right buttons

with me to get me riled up. She just irritates the heck out of me," Russ

explained. "I hate asking her for favors because she always wants

something in return. I do favors because I want to, and don't expect

anything in return."

"Well, anyway," Ryoko said, heading off the carnage. "It's all

over. Kain is finally dead and we don't ever need to worry about him ever

again. I'm so relieved over that. Thank you, Russ. You saved my Tenchi

and you saved me too. I don't know how we can ever repay that debt."

Russ facefaulted. "Didn't I just get finished saying that I don't

expect repayment for favors?" Russ said, looking at Aeka, asking her a

rhetorical question and smiling. "Not to worry. We're all safe and sound,

for now. However, I still have a far greater challenge waiting me," Russ

said, looking skyward. "I felt Zorpheus's power before Kain appeared.

He's coming here, but he's still very, very far away. But he is coming, and

he is strong. I've got a major fight on my hands when he gets here."

"Will you have to become a super saiyan to fight him like you did

with Kain?" Sasami asked, continuing to admire his golden hair.

"Yes. He too can transform into a super saiyan," Russ said, trying

to smile. "Man, Washu really ruined the mood. I guess I'll turn back to

normal now," he said, de-energizing. His hair became black, his extra

muscle mass vanished, and his eyes returned to black as well.

"That's so amazing," Tenchi said, watching Russ. "But I must

apologize for Washu. She doesn't mean anything by her arrogance, and she

does usually know what is best. Sometimes she does get snippy. Don't

take it personally."

"I know, I know. Belch. Well, I'm hungry! What do we got to eat

around here?" he asked cheerily, causing everybody to fall over.

"I really enjoyed that, Zorphy. Nobody has ever done that with me

before. It felt really good, and you're good at it too," Pyramid said, laying

next to Zorpheus on her bed. It was late and the sun had gone down,

blanketing the base in darkness. "Are you sure you don't want to spend the

night?"

Realizing that all she had wanted was a full body massage, he

sighed in relief. But he was really sleepy. "If you don't mind, then I don't.

I haven't had a good nights rest in a long, long time. I haven't slept in a bed

in what feels like years."

Pyramid giggled. "Well, you're welcome to stay here with me,"

she said softly, cuddling up next to him. "Get yourself a good night's rest,

and I'll make you breakfast in the morning."

Smiling, Zorpheus nodded his head. "Okay." After lying there

quietly for a few minutes, he spoke up once again. "Pyramid?"

"Hmm?" she asked, her voice barely a murmur.

"Thanks again."

Moaning very softly, she fell asleep on Zorpheus's shoulder,

cuddled up against him.

Glancing down on her sleeping form, he smiled. She reminded

him of a small child, afraid of being left alone. If she weren't a Cell, he'd

probably be very attracted to her. Mostly for the sex, of course, but he

couldn't bring himself to take advantage of her. He blushed furiously at

where his thoughts were going, but it felt good and fun. Too bad Russ was

such a stiff. He could really have a good time if he'd just loosen up a little.

Lying awake in bed a little longer, Zorpheus's thoughts continued

to drift, and his thoughts wandered on the planet he was on before he

arrived at Xnafu. Remembering the man he had killed just because he

didn't know about the Dragonballs kept nagging him at the back of his

mind, and he knew what he had done was really bad and evil.

"I'm not that way," he said to himself, being extra quiet as to not

wake Pyramid. He regretted killing that man, as he could've had a wife and

family, and he took him away from them. "I can't believe I did that."

Rubbing his forehead with his free hand, he said a silent prayer to

himself, hoping the man he had killed had gone to a better place, and then

he said a second one, asking for forgiveness. He realized that he was going

to really have to keep his temper in check, especially on this planet.

However, the next planet that he was going to head off to was Earth. A

non-stop flight there would take him about nine months, or possibly a little

sooner. The upcoming battle there made him remember all the times he had

with Russ before they learned about the Dragonballs.

They were an unstoppable team. The two of them worked like a

well-oiled machine, always taking turns or double-teaming at the most

appropriate times, and never being defeated. However, he was always the

one with the quick tongue. Whenever they'd get into an insult war, he

always put Russ to shame. Also having a knack for chemistry and other

science, he was a bit smarter to Russ when it came to that. Russ was

talented too, having great taste in music and being able to play nearly

everything that he heard. He could sing too, which was very impressive for

a saiyan. But, all that talent aside, they were both nearly equal warriors.

Whenever they'd spar or get into a major fight, it usually came out in a

stalemate, or one would beat the other, but barely, and after that, the victory

usually went the other way. They had some great sparring matches together

too. He still remembered the very first time they used their signature

attacks against each other his Holy Raze up against Russ's Buster

Cannon. They both ran out of energy before either attack hit each other, the

two beams fizzling out, causing no damage at all. They both went to the

risqu bar after that and enjoyed a drink together. Russ's was non-

alcoholic, of course. He chuckled to himself over how Russ was always so

uptight about stuff like that. It was amusing, but annoying too. Fortunately,

he didn't try to force others to be like him, so for the most part, it was easy

to deal with.

He missed those times. Happy that he was going to see Russ

again, but dreading it at the same time, he wondered exactly what was going

to happen. Russ was probably training really hard, and he wondered how

much he could've progressed, or how much he will progress within the next

nine months. Since he was going to be in stasis for the duration of the trip,

his training will be on hold. Fortunately, after that fight with Pyramid, his

strength had gone way up, so figuring that he should be all set, he decided

not to concern himself over it.

Pyramid shifted positions next to him and moaned very softly, a

smile on her lips. "She's cute, for looking like an orange Cell anyway," he

said to himself, as he closed his eyes and dozed off for the night.

After a filling dinner Russ went back outside, surveying the

damage from the earlier confrontation, using the bright moonlight to see.

After that time on Startica when Sasami had her nightmare, that thought had

always been buried in the back of his mind and he was unable to forget

about it. It was freaky that a little girl was able to predict the future so far in

advance, however inaccurate. She had said that he wasn't supposed to be

here and that everybody had been murdered at the hands of that monster.

Fortunately, that never came to pass.

It was remarkable how Tenchi had transformed into whatever it

was that he had become. Those blades that had protected him were a

remarkable manifestation of Jurai power. Not only did it block any energy

blast that came near them, it transformed that energy into something

harmless, causing no extra or unnecessary damage. It just bled away like a

lightning bolt does when it hits a lightning rod on a tall building.

Making his way over to his tree, he leapt into the air and landed on

his favorite set of branches, which allowed him to sit comfortably in any

posture he wanted. Placing his chin in his palm, he sat yoga style and

continued to ponder the events from earlier in the evening. Curious about

the limitations of the lighthawk wing's power, he was unable to figure out

how Kain had managed to cause Tenchi any damage.

He had never encountered another being like Kain before. His

energy level had never changed throughout the whole battle, but yet his

attack strength varied. Figuring that he had a way of controlling how much

energy he put into an attack had made the most sense, since he could do that

himself. However, Kain never really felt all that powerful, but he had quite

an arsenal of attacks and abilities. Kiyone had once described Kain in detail

for him and some of his known abilities, as he had asked her about a month

after the Startica festival. Some of those abilities were far beyond what he

could do himself, such as time travel. Kiyone had given him a full report on

the incident that happened about two or three years ago.

His thoughts were interrupted by the approach of someone, who he

quickly identified by the energy as Ryoko.

"Hey Russ? What are you doing up there?" she asked, looking up

at him from the ground.

He smiled. "Just thinking."

"Oh would Uhh, would you mind a little company?" she

asked, hesitatantly.

"Come on up and find a branch," Russ invited.

She floated up to his level and sat on a nearby limb, keeping cat-

like balance on the small piece of wood. "Thanks."

"What's on your mind? You look a little sad."

Ryoko looked at him and managed a smile, which quickly faded

away. "I wanted to apologize for threatening to kill you when Tenchi had

gotten hurt, and you got in my way. I just care for him so much and I'd

do anything for him, including dying. I never want to see anything happen

to him, but I'm sorry for saying what I said. I was upset."

Russ nodded his head. "I understand. I've never cared about

someone strong enough to die for them, unfortunately. I only cared about

one other, and when she died, I went berzerk and tore apart the man she was

fighting. That's how I became a super saiyan. Zorpheus couldn't believe

what I had done."

"I thought you were never involved?" Ryoko questioned.

"It was a lot like it is between myself and Aeka at this point," Russ

described.

"Oh" she answered. "I just don't know what I'd do without

him," she said, her voice wavering as a tear trickled from her eye. She drew

her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. "He's the only one who

ever showed me kindness true kindness, and not someone who wanted

something in return. I fell in love with him on the first day I laid eyes on

him."

Russ smiled. "I heard about that story. You were drunk at that

time too, weren't you?"

Letting out a soft giggle, she sniffled and smiled. "Yeah. Mihoshi

had chased me down to this planet and I crashed, but Tenchi was the one

who found me first. He gave me some water and asked me if I was okay.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, had done that for me in my life. And he was

happy that I was okay. That's all I needed."

"Hmmm. That must've been quite a meeting. But anyway, you

two have been actually been a couple for a little over a year now, right?"

"About a year and three months, yeah."

"But you never did 'this and that' kind of thing until I showed up

though, right?"

Blushing slightly, she blinked, looking away shyly. "That's none

of your business."

Russ chuckled. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. Do you two

have any marriage plans?"

Ryoko shook her head. "I think he's too nervous to ask me, and

from what I understand about the culture on this planet, it's improper for the

woman to ask the guy."

"Since when as that stopped you from what you wanted?" Russ

questioned, grinning.

"I just I don't know," she answered, looking out over the lake,

the pale moonlight shining off of the ripples in the water.

Russ studied her for a few minutes. "There is another reason, isn't

there? I can feel it. What's wrong, Ryoko?"

Looking into his black eyes, she sighed. "Tenchi and I are not

quite compatible. We can never have children, and that's one thing that I

had wanted since coming to live with him."

Russ's happy mood melted away and he became quiet. "Can't

your mother figure out a way to make it happen?"

"She gave me some reasons that I couldn't understand and didn't

make any sense. You know how she is. She gets all technical and starts

sprouting off things that any normal person wouldn't understand," Ryoko

mumbled. "I hate it when she does that. And she never even tried to help

me."

"I'm sure she would've, if she could've. Even though she is

selfish at times, I think she'd really try to help you if she could. It surprises

me that she can't make it happen though. She IS the smartest person I've

ever known," Russ said, looking up the mountain at the shrine. A yellow

light glowed in the window. "It looks like Lord Katsuhito hasn't gone to

bed yet."

They sat in silence a few more moments. "Does Tenchi know that

you cannot have children with him?" Russ asked, looking her in the eyes.

Ryoko shook her head. "He thinks I'm just taking preventative

measures to keep from becoming pregnant. He said he didn't want children

until we were married. The problem is, even if he does ask me, I still

cannot have children and that's something I don't want to have to tell him.

It may change the way he feels about me."

"I doubt that. Tenchi seems to be the kind of person who, when he

has made a choice, is going to stick with it. He cares about other people's

feelings and I know he wouldn't care if you could have kids or not. He

loves you for who you are."

Sitting quietly for another few minutes, Ryoko broke the silence.

"It's a nice night. Warm, a very light breeze blowing, and a beautifully

clear sky," Ryoko said, gazing up at the stars. "I remember travelling those

stars. I never stayed in one place for very long, always being on the run

from Nagi or the Galaxy Police. Even after all of this time, it still feels

strange to call this backwater planet, home."

Russ smiled, the moonlight accentuating his facial features. "This

is my home. I was born here, as my parents had come here a long time ago,

and this is where I wish to live out my days. It's nice to travel from time to

time, but I always somehow find my way back here."

Smiling, Ryoko watched him from over her knees, but again, her

smile disappeared. "I'm sorry for burdening you with my troubles. I

just"

"It's okay," Russ interrupted. "I'm no psycatrist, but I can tell

when someone needs to talk and have an available ear to listen. If you ever

have something that is troubling you, feel free to come talk to me. I won't

say a word to anybody else about it too."

Watching him with sad eyes, she sniffled. "You're a lot like

Tenchi, but even I can't tell him everything that bothers me."

"If you need someone to talk to, anytime, anywhere, just let me

know. Everybody has demons that they want to chase away, and talking

about them usually helps."

Ryoko yawned and stretched herself out, keeping her balance on

the tree limb. "I feel better now that I have apologized and having you

listen to my troubles. Aeka has found a real keeper in you," she added.

Russ closed his eyes a moment and slowly reopened them, those

same, sad eyes that Aeka herself had seen several times before. Catching

her offguard with his look, Ryoko became concerned.

"Is there something that you want to tell me?" she offered.

Realizing his appearance, Russ forced a smile and a light chuckle.

"No, I'm okay. Just remembering a great many things that happened a long

time ago."

Ryoko looked at his face and she knew he was lying, but she

decided not to go into it. Instead, she made the same offer that he made her.

"I may not be the worlds greatest listener, but you're welcome to come talk

with me if you're feeling down. Even you must get upset sometimes."

Russ nodded his head. "Yeah, I do get upset from time to time, but

there is really nothing I can do about it. I've had a lot of stuff happen to

me, and I'm sure you have as well. Anyway, I do appreciate the offer.

Thanks."

"You're a part of the family now, or at least I like to think so.

You're never mean, you entertain us with your music, and you're a

wonderful person to Sasami. I haven't seen her so full of life before, until

you came along. She talks about you all the time when you're training out

here. She loves having you show her how to make new dishes of food,

watch anime with her, or play games. A lot of times she calls you her big

brother," Ryoko added, smiling. "And Aeka loves your company too.

She's always wondering where you are and she worries about you. I swear,

she's going to get wrinkles if you keep stressing her out like this." Ryoko

them started laughing.

Russ grinned. "I had no idea Sasami thought of me like that.

She's such a sweet girl, always happy and always willing to lend a helping

hand. She has similar interests as I do, and she's a great friend. I never

really thought of her as a sister, but I can see how she could think I'm her

brother. Except the spiky hair makes me look more like YOUR brother,

Ryoko," Russ added, laughing.

Giggling, Ryoko smiled. "I did notice that. My mother's hair is

also spiky. I just wish I knew if I had or knew who my father was."

"That was something else that I've heard about, but never bothered

to investigate further. It's none of my business and I don't want to dredge

up old feelings about that stuff."

"It would've been okay. Just my mother is so secretive about so

much stuff. She refuses to reveal anything. I think it has to do with the

child she lost a long, long time ago," Ryoko said, a distant look in her eyes.

"Washu told me about that on the first day we met. I'm sure that

to a mother, losing a child is the greatest heartache of all. Nothing could

possibly be any worse than that. She'd probably go insane if she lost you,

Ryoko."

"Hah! Not MY mother," she spat, looking out over the lake.

"I know she doesn't seem to appreciate you, but I'm certain that

she cares for you like only a mother could," Russ said quietly, trying to

calm her down. "It's just a shame that Washu refuses to show it."

"I know. But anyway," she said, floating up into the air. "I should

be getting back into the house and get ready for bed. Tenchi is probably

wondering where I'm at. Are you coming in now?"

Russ shook his head. "No, I think I'm going to stay out here a

little longer. The weather is so perfect and the moonlight really makes this

place beautiful. And I also want to be alone for a little while longer, I

guess." Smiling, Russ put up his hand. "Bah. Go on inside. Don't worry

about me. I'll probably come inside a little later. Good night, Ryoko.

Sleep well."

Her face hiding her emotions, she smiled. "Thanks again, Russ.

Goodnight," she said before vanishing, teleporting herself back inside the

house.

Russ sighed, alone once more, his face going back to that

thoughtful, faraway, and depressed expression.

"Wake up, Zorpheus," Pyramid said, shaking the sleeping saiyan

back and forth like a dead weight. After shaking him for nearly two

minutes straight, she gave up. Giggling, she grabbed her pillow and began

beating Zorpheus over the head with it.

"Ugh, what the I'm under attack!" he yelled, putting up his arms

in defense as the pillow came down on his face again and again. It ceased a

moment later.

"Good grief! You give a whole new meaning to sleeping like a

log," Pyramid laughed, tossing her pillow back onto the bed. "Breakfast is

ready! Come and get it!"

"Okay, okay," Zorpheus mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the sleep

from his eyes, then letting out a huge yawn. He stretched himself out,

raising his arms as far as they would go over his head and stretching his legs

out under the covers, groaning the whole time.

"Are you awake yet?" Pyramid said, standing in the doorway,

striking a pose.

Zorpheus just gave her a sour look, and managed a fake smile.

"I'm not a morning person."

Giggling, Pyramid held up a spatula. "Well, at least I got you

awake. Come on and eat before it gets cold. Oh, and your clothes have

been mended. They're there on that chair," she said, pointing to a recliner

in the corner of the bedroom.

Zorpheus raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then smiled.

"Awesome. I'll be out in a few moments."

Pyramid left the door and shut it behind her, making her way back

to the kitchen. Speedily getting out of the bed and putting on his clothes,

Zorpheus checked himself in the mirror before leaving the bedroom.

Quickly making his way to the table, he sat down at one of the chairs,

grabbed his fork and knife, and began beating the table in a steady rhythm,

chanting "Food" the whole time. Pyramid got a kick out of it, and she

quickly set a stack of about ten pancakes in front of him. In about five

seconds, the stack was polished off and eaten. Pyramid had sat down and

finished her pancakes in about ten seconds. She got up, made another order

of the flapjacks, and the same scenario played out a good five times.

Breakfast pretty much progressed in that manner until they were

finished. Moving back into the living room, Zorpheus took a seat on the

couch, and then let out a belch that could've started an earthquake. Pyramid

had sat down with him and did the same thing. Looking at her in surprise,

they both exploded laughing.

"Good breakfast," they said in unison.

Zorpheus laughed. "Thank you. That was very kind of you to go

out of your way to make me breakfast. I'm sure we started a ton of rumors

around the base now that you haven't been seen since yesterday."

"I don't care about that. If they have something to say, I'll just

blow them up." She then laughed.

Zorpheus sighed. "Man, nine months of dead sleep is what I have

to look forward to when I leave. It sucks."

Pyramid held onto his muscular arm and rubbed it affectionately.

"You don't have to leave soon, do you?"

"The sooner I leave, the sooner I can get to Earth."

"Awww. Do you have to leave now or can you stay a little while

longer?"

Zorpheus laughed. "I'll stay a little while longer, and then I have

to get going, okay?"

"Yay!" she shouted. "Want to watch some TV or anything? I

rarely turn on the dumb thing since I'm usually busy with other stuff."

"Well, let's see what's on," Zorpheus said, picking up the remote

and turning the TV on. Flipping through a few stations, he turned to

Gundam Wing. "Oh wow, you guys have anime here? That's really

unusual."

Pyramid laughed. "Yeah. Even though Earth doesn't really know

about extraterrestrial beings yet, we manage to steal all of their

entertainment off of their satellites."

"You guys are evil," he responded with a grin. "What about you?

What's your favorite program?"

"I really don't have one, but I too have a love for anime. Gundam

Wing is pretty neat. Just those gundams of theirs are near invincible."

Zorpheus grinned. "They wouldn't stand a chance against us," he

chuckled.

"Of course not. No anime character can stand against us. Earth

just doesn't have a concept of real strength yet."

"I suppose not. Well, I guess we can watch this for a while."

After watching the episode of Gundam Wing, Zorpheus and

Pyramid had made their way outside of the spaceport. Lifting off, they flew

back to his spacepod, where he had originally fought Jordan. The craters

that were caused by their battle had already begun to vanish, being covered

in vegetation, as the holes seem to magically fill themselves in.

"Well," Zorpheus said, opening up the hatch of his pod. "I really

had a nice time with you. Thanks again for training with me and showing

me that unpronounceable superbomb of yours. That's quite an attack."

Pyramid bowed proudly and smiled. "Will I ever see you again?

Will you come back and visit me sometime?"

"I don't know. Our paths may cross once again," he said, putting a

foot into his pod.

Pyramid grabbed his arm and yanked him out, grabbing his other

arm with her hand. She pulled him down to her height, and then mashed

her lips onto his, Zorpheus's face becoming total astonishment and surprise.

After a moment she released him, and smiled. "I hope you do

remember me, Zorphy. I had a great time with you and would love to see

you again."

"I I uh" he stuttered. Clearing his head, he let out a huge

sigh, and then grinned. "I had a great time too. I'll try to make time to

come back and see you once again. Here," he said, handing over a card

with a bunch of information printed on it. "This is my spacecraft's

communication frequency. Use this if you want to get in touch with me

sometime. Just not within the next nine months because I'll be in stasis."

Grasping the card and holding it to her heart, she nodded her head.

"See you around?"

"Most definitely."

Pyramid smiled, and allowed a tear to drip from her eye. "Have a

safe trip. You know where to find me if you want to progress to step

two"

Lifting off and rocketing back to the base, a violet ki streak

marking her flightpath, Zorpheus watched her until he couldn't see her

anymore. Sighing deeply, he stepped into his spacecraft and lifted off,

shooting back into outerspace. Keying in several other commands, he

initiated the voice commands for the computer."

"Voice commands ready."

"Computer, set new default. Leave voice commands on."

"Affirmative," it responded.

Zorpheus stared at the computer in astonishment. "Wow, I didn't

know you could do that. Cool. Anyway, computer, plot a course for Earth

and head there."

"Affirmative."

"Initiate stasis sleep. Set wakeup time to thirty minutes before

landing," Zorpheus commanded.

"Affirmative. Now initiating stasis sleep," it said, letting the

purple gas hiss into the cockpit. Zorpheus's vision grew blurry, and then he

fell asleep, his bodily functions ceasing to work as he went into hibernation.

"Stasis sleep confirmed," his computer announced to nobody.

"Estimated time to arrive on Planet Earth: nine months, two days."


	15. Chapter 15

Ep 15 - Christmas

You guys are still reading this story?!?! Well, I'm flattered, in that case.

Tenchi is copyrighted Pioneer and DBZ is copyrighted by Funimation. I've

got a new email address now, which is . Use that from

now on to send me questions/comments/friendly criticism/fanmail. My

Mediaone address is going bye bye as a result of a cable company merger,

but I bought a domain name that can forward email to any account I want.

Anyway, enjoy the final chapters of the story. Only about 2 4 left to go

Feel free to come visit my website .net or

.net:81. It's a massive Tenchi website consisting of MP3s,

video clips, over 19,000 screenshots, character descriptions, and much

more, including additional fanfics by other authors.

It was the morning of December 24, the day before Christmas.

The sun had already crested the mountains and had begun shining its rays of

life into the windows of the Masaki home. But despite its life giving

energy, most of the vegetation outside of the house was brown, hibernating

for the long winter. Frost covered most of the dead, dried up leaves that

remained on the bushes and carpeted the grass in a sparkling sea of silver

light. The lake was frozen solid, waiting for the spring thaw. The

temperature outside was considerably below freezing, and there was no

wind. However, one particular individual had one of the weirdest sleeping

habits out of anybody most people have ever seen.

Sleeping soundly with his window wide open, Russ was

contentedly sawing logs under his mountain of covers. A very light coating

of frost was on his comforter, but it didn't intrude into the room any further

than that. He had his heat vent turned off since he had the battle with Kain,

and had slept with his window open every day since that point, and his fan

was turned on, but wasn't blowing on him. Sasami, Aeka, Ryoko, and

Tenchi all couldn't figure out how he could tolerate that level of coldness in

his room, especially when he occasionally complained that it was too cold

in the living room. Whenever one of them was sent to wake him, they'd

usually wind up fighting over it because nobody wanted to go into a room

where the temperature was as cold as it was outside.

Ryoko tried to do it once, but she wasn't able to wake Russ up and

she chickened out and ran back to Tenchi, complaining that it was far too

cold for her to go in there and that it would take far too long to rouse the

sleeping saiyan out of his heavy doze.

Aeka had done it on several occasions, but she'd always dress up

like she was going outside before venturing into his room. Putting on her

heavy coat and mittens, she'd go into his room, spend about five minutes

shaking Russ to no avail, and then finally just throw off all of his covers.

That usually got him up in about five seconds, causing him to run out of the

room shivering cold. But it put him in a bad mood for part of the day. He

hated being woken up for any reason. Like most people, he preferred to

wake up on his own.

Sasami, on the other hand, was a bit more creative in getting Russ

awake. Her favorite way was simply putting Ryo-Ohki on Russ's face,

patiently waiting for him to have his allergic reaction to the cabbit. After

about five minutes, he'd start sneezing and then drag himself out of bed.

Despising that method the most, Russ would usually try to think of some

way to get revenge on the sneaky princess for each and every time he woke

up in a fit of sneezing. And of course, because Russ hated it so much, it

quickly became her favorite.

Opening his door and stepping out into the warm hallway, letting

out a huge rush of freezing cold air, Russ let out a gigantic yawn and raised

his arms over his head, letting out a deep groan in a revitalizing stretch,

closed his bedroom door, and then began to trudge to the bathroom in a

daze. Exercising and pushing himself to his limits completely wore him out

on a daily basis. Finally taking Washu's gravity machine to its peak of two

thousand times normal Earth gravity, he had asked the scientist if she could

make it any more powerful, but she said that doing so would be impossible.

Plus she didn't have a power source large enough to make it any stronger,

nor could she use Russ's own energy to power it. Disappointed, he didn't

argue with her, but he did continue to use it at its maximum level, even

though it wasn't giving him as much benefit as it used to. He did figure that

she was fibbing slightly and just didn't want to help, but he kept his mouth

shut, deciding to just deal with the setback.

Slowly making his way downstairs, he glanced into the living

room, which was empty of life, but looked absolutely beautiful. A tall

Christmas tree stood in the corner of the room where the TV used to be, and

there were many decorations hung around the room as well. Garland was

strung up on the banister and several ornaments were hanging off of that,

and a small bunch of mistletoe was hanging over the kitchen door. Various

other figurines and decorations were strategically placed throughout the

room, and it looked absolutely perfect. An enormous stack of presents was

positioned under and around the Christmas tree, all waiting to be opened on

Christmas Day.

Looking from side to side cautiously, Russ made his way over to

the gifts, eyeballing the various nametags, trying to figure out who got

whom what. Several large packages were marked with Sasami's name and

smaller, flat presents had Tenchi's, Ryoko's, Aeka's, Nobuyuki's, Lord

Katsuhito's, and Washu's names on them. However, try as he did, he

couldn't find one with his name on it. But there were still more presents

under the ones on top, and since he didn't want to disturb the setting, he

assumed that at least one of them were probably for him.

He had already gone shopping for everybody, buying each person

something that he figured they'd want. Having bought Sasami a new winter

coat and mittens, he thought she'd like that because he overheard the

princess complain that her current one was getting a little small and she was

tired of the colors. For the others, he bought Aeka a new kimono, colored

green, gray, and red. For Mihoshi, three boxes of those chocolate, caramel,

and pecan turtle candies. Russ was almost going to keep a box since he was

crazy about those too. He bought Nobuyuki a new set of architect tools and

pencils, and he bought Katsuhito a gag gift of a Hawaiian shirt, khaki

shorts, and cool set of sunglasses. Russ started snickering quietly to himself

as he pictured the wizened man in those clothes. Ryoko was a tough one to

buy for, but he settled on a new chick-flick movie that had come out, and he

bought Tenchi a new style of karate gi that had come out only recently. It

was very colorful and had a few interesting designs on it in kanji. One of

the symbols on the shoulder had read Tenchi, and he figured that it was very

cool and that Tenchi would like it. He bought Kiyone a gift certificate for

two to a very high-class restaurant in Tokyo, hoping that it would cheer her

up a bit. She was down in the dumps for a little while, but she had come

out of it about a week ago. The stress from her financial troubles was

starting to get to her. Shopping for Washu was fun to say the least. Surfing

the Internet at a local library, he came across a website that had geek-

oriented merchandise. There, he managed to find a watch that would tell

time in binary. Smiling the whole time he filled out the order form, he

knew he found the perfect gift for her.

Yawning once again, Russ turned away from the tree and made his

way to the bathroom, intending to take a nice, hot shower to start the day.

Even though it was the day before Christmas, he felt that he had to get in a

little bit of training. There was really nothing else to do. He did have his

share of chores around the house, which mainly consisted of sweeping

leaves off of the path and stairway to the shrine. It was a piece of cake for

him since he used his energy to create a massive amount of wind that

simply cleared the steps of the debris. Tenchi glared at him and was a bit

jealous, since it usually took him at least an hour to do the steps alone, and

Russ could do it in ten minutes or less.

Reaching the bathroom door, Russ slid it back into the wall,

noticed that it went into the women's bath again, and he slid it shut without

even peering inside. Trying again, he re-opened the door into the men's

bath and he stepped inside, shedding his clothes and turning on the hot

water. This was the third time that someone has tried to trick him into

going into that bath. Having never peered inside, he knew if he did, one of

the girls would've probably been in there and the last thing he wanted to be

accused of was being a peeping tom. However, he could never figure out

who kept doing that. He stepped into the steam that came from the hot

water and allowed his body to relax, letting the near-scalding water run over

his muscular frame and drip into the bathtub below.

"Dammit, I can never trick him into coming in here," Aeka

muttered to herself, looking at the closed door and listening to the quiet

echo of the running water from the men's bath. Having become more

aggressive in her pursuit of Russ's affections, she had begun to try various

things to get his attention. Her latest thing was leaving the bathroom door

open a very slight crack, which would cause the dimension shift to not

occur, and would allow Russ to open the door to the wrong bathroom.

However, all three times, Russ just looked into the room and closed the

door, matter of factly, as if he expected it. Maybe next time she'd ask

Washu to make the door open to the women's bath for him no matter what

he did, just for a day. She was having a lot of fun teasing him.

He never seemed to mind her physical touch, though, so that was a

good thing. On occasion, she'd hang on his arm or hug him when she was

feeling down, and he always returned the attention, but only as a friend and

not as someone who wanted something more. It drove Aeka nuts, but she

did a great job of concealing it from Russ. He had no idea about how she

desired him, both physically and emotionally. He was, without a shadow of

a doubt, the most handsome, well-built, interesting man she had ever

known. Easy going, always caring, and a little mischievous, he was what

she was looking for. Tenchi was too, even though Tenchi was a little more

stiff and strict, but that was of a time long passed and she figured it was

time to move onto other things. He was Ryoko's, but someone had come

along to fill that void. At least, she hoped he would.

Sighing to herself, she lay back in the warm water and stared at the

ceiling, letting her mind wander, still listening to the soft patter of water

from the adjacent bath. "What is it going to take to make him love me?"

she quietly said to herself, listening to her voice reverberate around the

bathroom. Looking into the clear water at her legs, she rubbed them gently.

They were much stronger than they used to be, as she had trained with Russ

on many occasions. She still maintained her soft, alabaster skin and

gorgeous figure, but she could feel the added strength throughout her body

and spirit. Training with him was not only fun, but it also gave her

something to do and look forward to. Of course, the real reason behind it

all was to be closer to Russ. She blushed slightly and smiled, knowing that

he probably enjoyed her company as well. He was as good of a talker was

he was a listener. She always had stories to tell him and things of wonder to

describe, and he always listened to all of it. It was wonderful to have

someone who seemed to show genuine interest in the things she had to say.

It made her feel good, and he was good at making her happy.

Getting up out of the water, she stepped over the tiles with her

bucket of cleaning products and began to wash herself, carefully lathering

her violet hair. The foam built up and plopped off of her head in sudsy

globs, covering the tile next to her. Doing her best to avoid tangling her

silky smooth hair, she continued to run her fingers through it in a steady

rhythm, becoming a little envious of Tenchi and Ryoko. They had both, on

multiple occasions, invaded the women's bath to wash each other, but in

Aeka's eyes, they were too busy playing to really clean themselves up.

Whenever they'd both come into the bath, Aeka would shyly cover her

womanhood, blushing the whole time, and quickly dress herself and then

vacate the bath. Tenchi would never look, much to her relief, but Ryoko

would always poke fun at her, asking her if she was embarrassed to show

Tenchi what she was made of. Unconsciously scrubbing her hair a little

harder, she realized what she was doing when her head started to hurt a

little. But a few moments later, she sadly looked at the empty space next to

her, wishing that one day that Russ may want to be by her side for the same

thing. Grabbing her bucket, she filled it with the warm water from the bath

and dumped it over her head, rinsing out a tremendous amount of lather.

She dumped a second bucket over her head to make sure she got all the soap

out, and then she began to wash her body, carefully scrubbing every single

portion of her skin, being careful to work around the necklace that Tenchi

and Ryoko had given her almost half a year ago.

"I hope he gives me a sign one of these days that he's willing to

accept me into his heart," Aeka thought to herself. Looking to see that

wonderful smile of his every day of her life was something that she wanted

more than anything, and she had to find a way to make it happen. Finishing

her washing, she again dumped several buckets of water over her body, and

then made her way over to the towels, where she quickly dried herself. She

had brought a fresh set of clothes with her into the bath, and she held up the

shirt in front of herself. It was a light blue sweater, made on Earth, with

several designs on the front of it. It had a hood attached to the back and a

couple strings from it hung down the front.

"Weird clothing, these earthlings have," she said to herself, setting

it down and picking up the undershirt. Quickly putting it on along with her

other undergarments, she slid the sweater over her head, carefully pulling

her hair out of the back of it, and tested the fit. Surprisingly, the material

was soft and warm, and she found it to her liking. Holding up a pair of

jeans, she frowned at the styling. Deciding to deal with it, she slid her legs

into the pants and hitched them up, snapping the button around her waist,

again, shifting it around to test the fit. The material was a little rougher than

what she was used to, but she felt that she did look good in them. The blue

sweater was a lighter shade than the jeans were, but they still went together

quite well. One long pocket was around her waist, and she carefully put

both her hands in on either side, and then admired herself in the mirror,

noticing that she really did look good in Earth clothing. Hoping that it

would catch Russ's attention, she took notice that the soft patter of water

had ceased from the men's bath, and she figured that Russ had finished his

morning shower. Hoping to catch him on his way out, she made her way

over to the bathroom door.

"Tenchi? Are you awake?" Ryoko whispered over to her lover,

who appeared to still be dozing quietly next to her. She had her body

pressed closely to his, feeling his warmth, as the temperature in the room

was below her liking. It was just too cold for her tastes. She always did say

that she hated Earth because of the bad weather, but she also said that she'd

endure Hell to be with Tenchi, and because Earth was his home, she made it

her home. She figured that she could deal with a little bit of coldness if it

meant spending the rest of her life with him. And besides, he was plenty

warm enough for her.

"Good morning, Ryoko. Merry Christmas," Tenchi whispered

back, looking into her golden, kittenish eyes. He bent and kissed her, then

rolled onto his side to face her directly.

Ryoko smiled. "It isn't Christmas until tomorrow, silly," she

giggled quietly, and then kissed him.

Tenchi returned the kiss and continued to smile. Six months ago,

he wouldn't have been caught dead sleeping with any of the girls, but now,

he couldn't believe what he had missed, and it still felt almost surreal that

he was here with the most beautiful girl in existence. She had always been

there for him, even after he had gotten mad at her and done stuff that had

hurt her feelings in the past. He regretted doing those things now,

especially after he learned how emotionally sensitive she was. Those awful

things he said to her years ago must've really hurt her. On occasion, he felt

that he didn't deserve her love, devotion, or passion. However, whenever

he felt that way, Ryoko would do something to bring him out of his

depression, almost as if she could sense that he was troubled. She was such

a remarkable girl in so many ways that mere words couldn't describe it.

He didn't know it at the time, but his heart had a void, an

emptiness, that was waiting to be filled with the love of another. That

emptiness had existed since his mother had died, but his mind chose to

ignore it, leaving his heart to ache. Never having a womanly figure as a

part of his upbringing, he was bewildered when all the girls had entered his

life, causing his normal routine to go up into a cloud of chaos and fun. That

void had slowly begun to fill, but only part way. Being caught in between

both girls tore him apart, but he never allowed either Aeka or Ryoko to

know about it. Hiding his own feelings and burying them deep down, he

did his best to be impartial to both girls, knowing that one day he would

have to eventually choose. That day came swiftly, and he knew that the

choice was made, shortly after he came back from the Haruna incident.

Ryoko seemed to be more calm and collective, but seemed to stay close to

him far more than Aeka did. That was further engraved into his mind when

Ryoko would hang on him, but not have Aeka object anymore. Instead,

she'd simply smile and continue with whatever she was doing, trying her

best to hide her jealousy, sadness, and depression. The thing was, HE never

chose. Both girls decided for him. However, it still hurt him and he knew it

hurt Aeka, but that pain had become so miniscule now that he simply forgot

that it was ever there.

If Russ hadn't arrived when he did, things might've been very

different. As far as he knew, she was planning on returning to Jurai to

assume her duties as the Royal Princess. She had asked him on one

occasion that if she ever had to return to Jurai, if he'd allow Sasami to

remain here, since she figured Sasami would've wanted that. Realizing that

she was still extremely upset over the way the decision was made, he made

certain that she knew that she could remain at his place for as long as she

wanted. He figured that she was just about ready to leave when Russ

arrived and began living with them.

Now Russ was a character. He had never, ever seen a man as well

built as he was. A mountain of muscle was an understatement. Russ's arms

were as thick as his head, and his legs were like tree trunks. He had known

a few people similar in appearance to Russ, but all of them turned out to

have a nasty, arrogant attitude that made his skin crawl. All they seemed to

talk about were how many girls were attracted to them and how much they

could bench press. But Russ was very different. He always did his best to

be friendly to everybody, lend a helping hand, and all around try to be a

nice guy. He was actually pretty smart too, unlike the other bodybuilders.

In a way, Russ was similar to himself, but he was different as well. Instead

of simply accepting Aeka like any of those other meatheads would have, he

turned her down flat on the first day he met her, but not because of

arrogance, but because he said that it was to protect her. He still wasn't

sure why he said it that way, but it came as a surprise to him.

In the past six months, watching both Aeka and Russ get to know

each other better, he noticed a change in both individuals. Aeka had

become a little more aggressive in her quest to make him hers, and Russ

didn't seem to run away from her as often as he used to. They spent a

tremendous amount of time together, whether it be training, cooking,

cleaning, shopping, eating, watching a movie, playing games, or any

number of activities. They almost appeared as a couple, but Russ always

made sure that she knew that they were just friends. He knew those words

hurt Aeka again and again, and he had confronted Russ about it on several

occasions, but he would always calmly explain why he did what he did.

The strange thing was the reason was always different. One time it was to

protect her. Another time it was because he wasn't interested. And yet

another time it was because he wasn't ready yet. Every excuse beat around

the same bush, and that was he simply didn't want a girlfriend. But being a

man himself, he still couldn't figure out why a man wouldn't want to take a

mate for himself. It almost felt like it was out of a fictional movie. If it had

been Ryoko or Aeka by herself when either entered his life, he probably

would've fallen in love with one of them a lot sooner, but being torn

between the two most gorgeous females on this side of the galaxy kept him

from choosing and falling in love.

"What are you thinking about, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked softly,

gently running her fingers through Tenchi's hair. "You look lost in

thought."

"I am a little. I was just thinking about the last six months.

Thinking about us, and thinking about Russ and Aeka. Just remembering

some stuff that happened during that time." Tenchi reached over and gently

caressed her arm, feeling his way down the length of her warm, soft body.

"No need to worry about them, Tenchi. I think Russ will come

around soon," Ryoko said, grasping Tenchi's hand in her own and giving it

a tender squeeze. "He just needs a little more time or a swift kick in the rear

to get him going."

"I'm not so sure about that, Ryoko. He seems pretty serious about

not wanting Aeka."

Ryoko frowned, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I know. But she's

been working at it and I think he's starting to loosen up a little. We'll have

to wait and see."

Tenchi yawned, rolled onto his back, and then sat up. "I suppose.

I just hope he doesn't wind up hurting Aeka's feelings."

"I think it's too late for that, Tenchi. He hurt her feelings the day

he met her by telling her no."

Sighing quietly to himself, he looked over at Ryoko, who was still

snuggled under the covers. "I already know that any amount of pressure

won't bend him, but would probably make him angry. We should just leave

it alone. He may yet come around. We'll have to wait and see, like you

said."

"Yeah. I suppose you're right," she said, sitting up, feeling the

cooler air rush onto her back, giving her goosebumps. Letting out an

audible shiver, she latched onto Tenchi and smiled. "Brrrr! It's cold in

here!"

"Hah. This is warm compared to Russ's room. I don't know how

in the world he can sleep like that," Tenchi said, wrapping his arm around

his girl, feeling the goosebumps that sprouted on her back.

"Me neither. Anyway, lets go downstairs and get something to eat,

and then we can take a bath. Russ is probably still sleeping and Aeka is

probably up destroying the kitchen," she giggled.

Tenchi looked fearfully into Ryoko's face, and then smiled. "It's

not like you or I can cook either," he teased. "Sasami is the master chef

around here, but Russ comes in a close second. The food he makes tastes

great, but is really not all that healthy. At least, not according to Washu. It

works for him because he burns all of that energy when he exercises."

"True. Anyway, let's go. I'm getting hungry. I'd even eat Aeka's

cooking at this point," she said, letting her stomach croak loudly.

Tenchi chuckled quietly as he tossed back the covers, letting both

of them out of the bed to dress and head downstairs.

Sasami was busy in the kitchen, as usual, preparing an extremely

massive breakfast for everybody. Since Russ had come to live with them,

she had begun making triple portions of everything, knowing full well that

Russ was a garbage disposal; able to eat everything you threw at him. He

used to tell her that he'd eat anything as long as it wasn't running too fast.

Speedily slicing up a cucumber, she tipped the cutting board into

the frying pan, allowing the cucumber slices to slide off. One slice missed

the pan and fell onto the counter, but Sasami quickly picked it up and ate it,

licking the water off of her fingers.

"Hey, good morning, Sasami. What are you making today for

breakfast?" Nobuyuki asked, peering into the kitchen from the doorway.

Sasami turned and smiled. "Just the usual. A little of this, a little

of that," she giggled.

"Ahhh. Do you need any help in there?"

"Nope! I'm just about finished anyway. Thanks for the offer

though!" she answered, smiling, and then turning toward the frying pan,

stirring the vegetables with her cooking chopsticks.

Nobuyuki smiled, remaining in the doorway as he watched her dart

around the kitchen, gathering ingredients and cooking them skillfully. She

was so full of life and energy that it made him think back to the love of his

life, Achika. She too was always happy, always outgoing, and could always

bring a smile to his face no matter what mood he was in. Just the sight of

her gorgeous figure, her wonderful brown eyes, her black hair in a pony tail,

was enough to make him not have a care in the world.

He could see a lot of Achika in Sasami, as she hurried around the

kitchen. She was usually happy, was always caring, and she was an

incredibly hard worker. She never really took a day to herself, but if she

did, the whole house would probably fall apart. It almost did when she got

the flu about a month ago. She was out of it for a couple days, but

fortunately, Russ was around to take over. He did everything she had done

and more, saying that she needed her rest. Aeka did her best to help in the

kitchen but she'd always botch whatever it was she was cooking. Raw

sewage would've probably had a more appealing taste than some of the

awful things that, quite literally, crawled out of her frying pan as if it were

still alive. Most of them would disintegrate when someone touched it.

Russ teased her on several occasions, saying that she was as bad of a cook

as Akane from Ranma and was just as ill tempered. Nobuyuki laughed

quietly to himself as he remembered the chaos that ensued. For nearly five

minutes, Aeka chased Russ around the kitchen with a meat cleaver,

screaming that she was going to kill him, which made Russ only laugh that

much harder.

"Do you need something?" Sasami asked, noticing that Nobuyuki

hadn't moved from his spot in the doorway.

Suddenly realizing that he was caught daydreaming, he smiled and

shook his head no. "Sorry. I'll let you get back to work." He turned and

left the kitchen, leaving Sasami watching after him in concern.

"Good morning, Russ," Aeka greeted, opening the door after Russ

had left the men's bath.

Russ turned around and smiled, and had a double take when he

saw what Aeka was wearing. "G'morning. Nice sweater," he said. "I

thought you didn't like Earth clothes." Russ was dressed in a sweater and

jeans as well, except his sweater was red.

She grinned and made her way over to the saiyan. "Most of the

time I don't, but I like these sweaters. Do you think it looks good on

me?"

Russ stopped in his tracks, a small amount of perspiration covering

his head. His eyes wandered up and down her figure, and he suddenly felt a

little flushed. She watched him curiously, raising her eyebrow, getting a

little closer to him in an attempt to make him uncomfortable, and to allow

him to look down her sweater, giving him a little view. Snickering quietly

to himself, he decided to be a smartass this morning. "Does my opinion

matter?" he questioned flatly.

Aeka took it right in stride. "No, not really."

Cocking his eyebrow curiously, he started chuckling. "Good

answer. I'm glad you loosened up a little."

"I thought you'd like that," she said, pushing her way past him,

letting her long ponytails hang out behind her. "I'm hungry."

"Me too."

"You're always hungry," Aeka retorted.

Russ stuck out his tongue and gave her a raspberry, making hand

gestures to enhance the effect, and he continued to quietly make a ruckus

behind her back as they made their way to the breakfast table. Aeka knew

what he was doing, but decided to ignore it.

"Hello everyone," Russ said, noticing everybody seated at the table

already. Kiyone, Mihoshi, Katsuhito, Nobuyuki, Sasami, Ryoko, and

Tenchi were all there, in the process of putting food on their plates.

"Hi Aeka! It's been a while," Kiyone greeted. "Same goes for

you, Russ. How have you two been?"

"Well, we" they both said in unison. They looked at each other

and Russ gestured for her to go ahead.

"We've been doing pretty good. It's been really cold outside, so I

haven't done much, but Russ here still trains like there is no tomorrow,"

Aeka explained. "I don't know how he can stand such cold weather."

Kiyone laughed. "He's dedicated. That's all there is to it."

Russ grinned. "Thanks Kiyone. How have you and Mihoshi been

doing? Are you looking forward to tomorrow?"

"Oh yes!" Mihoshi said, interrupting her partner. "We haven't had

much free time to do anything since we're still working our butts off to pay

for the rent"

"Would you shut up about that Mihoshi?!" Kiyone yelled,

clamping her hand over the blonde's mouth. "You do this every single time

anybody asks that!"

Russ shook his head. "Sorry to hear about that. I know it's rough,

but you two girls do a great job," he said, giving them both a big smile.

"Thanks. I needed to hear that," Kiyone said, sounding relieved.

Russ eyeballed all the food that was on the table, causing his

stomach to roar in anticipation. "BREAKFAST TIME!" he said,

zanzokening to his seat at the table and immediately stuffing food in his

face. However, the family kept right on eating, as they had finally gotten

used to the way he consumed his food.

Aeka shook her head and laughed, then took her seat next to him

and began to delicately eat her meal.

It was already dark outside when Russ finished his training, even

though it was only about seven in the evening. It was still cold, just a

hairline above freezing, and an icy breeze was blowing from the west. The

sky was overcast, indicating a weather system was moving into the area.

After a couple minutes, a few flurries of snow began to fall, steadily

increasing and gathering in intensity.

Russ stood outside next to the lake, watching the snowflakes drift

onto the ground, listening to the silence of the surrounding area. He could

barely make out the wind as it blew through the bare branches of the

hibernating trees, but he could feel it through his coat and long underwear.

The snow always gave him a sense of peace and solitude. It was very

soothing to watch the snowflakes come down from the sky in irregular

patterns, only to fall apart when they hit the ground or bumped into his coat.

It had been years since Russ had snow on Christmas day. Most of

the time while he lived in Michigan of the United States, they wouldn't get

a large quantity of snow until after the holidays. Michigan had some really

screwy weather. It could be sixty degrees outside one day and literally have

five inches of snow on the ground the next. At least the weather in Japan

was a little more moderate.

He slowly walked off toward the shrine steps, his feet leaving

tracks in the dusting of snow. Making his way up the long stairway, he kept

himself very quiet, just admiring the fluffy white stuff that came down,

covering the ground. A trail of footprints followed him up the stairway, as

he made his way higher and higher toward the shrine. Finally reaching the

top, he looked around the land, which was bare, dead, and lifeless, except

for the glimmer of candlelight that danced in Katsuhito's window. Looking

past the shrine, he saw another clearing, which seemed to be another bluff

overlooking another valley. Carefully, quietly, making his way there, he

stopped when he reached the edge and took in the surrounding area. It was

absolutely huge and beautiful, but a little difficult to see through the

millions of snowflakes that fell from the sky. Looking off to his right, he

noticed a tree there and a gravestone.

"Hmmm" he muttered to himself as he made his way over and

knelt down in front of it. The stone read, "Achika. May her body and soul

rest in peace."

"I had no idea that her grave was actually here at this shrine," Russ

said to Katsuhito, who had come up behind him.

Katsuhito grinned. "There's no sneaking up on you, is there?"

Russ shook his head. "Nah. When I'm alone and there is not

much life around, I can sense just about anything coming my way. Your

life force is a dead giveaway, no matter how far you lower it. About the

only person who probably could sneak up on me would be Zorpheus. We

both learned the ability to cloak our energy so we could sneak up on

others."

"I see. Anyway, what are you doing out here?" the wizened man

asked, now standing next to Russ.

"Just enjoying the snow," he replied. "This is the first time I've

seen Achika's grave over here. I guess I just never noticed it before," Russ

said, looking down at the stone.

Katsuhito's expression was unreadable. "It was snowing almost

like this, on the day that she died. I always come out here to pay my

respects to my daughter on the first snowfall of the year," he explained.

Russ looked at him in mild surprise. "She was your daughter? I

never knew. I'm sorry," Russ said, unable to express his feelings any better

than that at the moment.

"It's okay. I miss her and so do Nobuyuki and Tenchi. If I know

them, they'll be out here in a little while to pay their respects as well."

Turning back to the gravestone, Russ looked down on it once

more. "Well, I guess I better head back to the house. There isn't much for

me to do right now. I don't feel like playing the organ or doing much of

anything. Not many people know this, but I always get depressed around

the Christmas holiday. I don't know why, especially when everybody is

usually so festive, bright, and cheery." He laughed to himself. "I sound

silly, don't I?"

Katsuhito shook his head. "No. A lot of people seem to get

depressed around Christmas. The stress of making others happy usually

weighs heavily on them. If a person has no family, that makes them feel

depressed because Christmas is so family oriented."

His eyes widening a little, Russ looked over at the Shinto priest. "I

think that's it. That may be why I get so down during this season. I have

no family left."

Both of their eyes met for a moment, until Russ hung his head.

"My parents died some time ago. I have no brothers or sisters and I don't

have very many close friends. Living with you guys has slightly lifted that

burden, but it still isn't the same. At least, not yet."

"It takes time to overcome any kind of grief. Some people never

get over it. Tenchi still greatly misses his mother, even though he barely

knew her. She died when he was very young, but despite that, he still

thinks of her constantly. There have been many occasions where he had

asked me about Achika and what she was like. About the only memories

we have left of her are a handful of photographs and an old eight millimeter

film that Nobuyuki took of her when they began dating," Katsuhito

explained, watching Russ's changing expressions. "Ever since Kain had re-

appeared, he again started questioning why that monster had done what he

had done and why he took his mother away from him."

Russ nodded his head. "I see. How come you didn't come to help

us fight Kain when he appeared? I know you must've sensed him."

"There was nothing that I could do. Tenchi has far surpassed my

own abilities when he learned to control the Lighthawk Wings. I did watch

from the top of the hill that day and was amazed at my grandson's abilities.

However, he is still sloppy with a sword."

Russ chuckled. "I know. I watch the way you pound him from

time to time and he never seems to get the hang of it."

Grinning, Katsuhito turned toward the cliff and made his way to

the edge, looking into the valley below. "I also saw you fight Kain down

there. I've never seen anything like the things you had done in my entire

life. The sheer amount of energy you were producing was nothing short of

godlike. How did you become so powerful? Before we met you, the

Jurians were the most powerful beings in existence."

Russ stepped up next to Katsuhito and looked out into the gray

sky. "Saiyans were made to be a warrior race. The main goals of saiyans in

the past were to become the most powerful race in the universe. Our bodies

were designed to fight and nothing more. When we lose, we become

stronger. The saiyan race developed many techniques and attacks to help us

in our endeavors, but even so, there were a few people out there who were

still far more powerful than us. The Frieza guy I told you about some time

ago, used to use our race as slaves. He'd order us to take over planets for

his ever-growing empire. One day, we rebelled, and lost. Frieza

completely annihilated our planet and everybody on it. Hundreds of

millions lost their lives that day except for Goku, Vegeta, Nappa, Raditz,

and our little contingent of rejects that had settled on a distant planet on the

other side of the galaxy. Frieza was afraid of us. Afraid that one of us

would eventually become a super saiyan, like myself. That was a threat to

his power, so he eliminated it, or at least, tried to," Russ described, calling

on the memories of his upbringing and the stories his father had told him.

"We gain strength at a rapid pace and we learn to fight almost before we

can walk. That is why we're so strong. When you saw my hair and energy

turn yellow and my eyes green, you saw my transformation into a super

saiyan. And you want to know something that is even wilder than that?

There are levels beyond what you saw. Three more levels, to be exact.

What you saw was only a small amount of power that our bodies are

capable of generating, but I haven't reached the next level yet. But I'm

close. I can feel it."

"You saiyans are certainly the most powerful people I've ever

seen. What are you going to do when Zorpheus arrives?" Katsuhito

questioned. "I'd be worried about you two destroying the planet and

everybody on it. What about us?"

"I've already given that a lot of consideration, and Washu has

agreed to an idea that I had. She has already begun work on it," Russ said,

looking into Katsuhito's violet eyes.

Katsuhito looked at him curiously. "Well?"

"Washu has made a separate dimension from this one for us to

fight in. The universe is identical to this one, except, no intelligent life.

Just plants. It's a perfectly replicated Earth and solar system. All that

needs to happen when he arrives is to transport the two of us there and we

can fight unobstructed. Whatever goes on in there should not affect this

dimension. When we transport, everybody except us will seem to have

disappeared, when in fact, it's us who will be moved. It's one thing that

Washu was more than willing to help me out with."

Katsuhito nodded his head in approval. "I see. Excellent idea."

"You will be able to watch us as well, since Washu can use her

technology to see into that other dimension. But what will go on in there is

far beyond what you've seen already. Me blowing away Kain was child's

play in comparison to the way Zorpheus and myself will be doing."

"I see. Well, we should be getting back inside. Sasami will

probably want to go to bed early in hopes that Santa will bring some

goodies for her," Katsuhito said, grinning.

Russ smiled. "I think Santa is going to be very kind to everybody

this year. Ho ho ho," he chuckled.

Katsuhito raised an eyebrow and looked at Russ curiously. "I have

a feeling you have a couple of surprises in store for us."

Grinning widely, Russ nodded his head. "You'll just have to wait

and see for tomorrow. There will be a few things that are nothing short of a

miracle."

"I look forward to it then."

"Okay. Good evening, Lord Katsuhito."

"See you in the morning, Russ."

"Come on you guys! The sooner we go to bed the sooner morning

will come," Sasami begged, pulling on her sister's arm.

It was nine o'clock at night, and it was about an hour before

everybody usually went to bed. Sasami was very anxious and jumpy, as

most young children are when it comes to Christmas. She was convinced

Santa was going to come, as she had learned of the Earth fable from Tenchi.

Instead of telling her that he didn't exist, they decided to allow her to

believe in him and she somehow managed to convince herself that he really

did exist.

"Okay, okay. We're going," Aeka responded, annoyed, as her

sister had been bugging everybody to go to bed for the past hour.

"Good. Now everybody, up to bed!" Sasami commanded, drawing

a big grin from everybody, including Russ.

"Yes, your highness," Russ responded, marching himself up to his

bedroom, followed by everybody else. Sliding open his door, a blast of

cold air slammed into his skin, causing him to break out in goosebumps.

Kiyone and Mihoshi were right behind him when he opened his door and

they looked at him in shock.

"Why is it so cold in your room, Russ?" Kiyone asked as he

stepped inside.

Russ turned around and grinned. "My window is wide open. This

is how I sleep," he answered, then slid his door closed, leaving a

flabbergasted pair of Galaxy Police officers in the hallway.

"Wow," Mihoshi said, blankly looking at his door.

"Come on. We better head off to bed too or Sasami will have our

heads."

Mihoshi laughed. "And Santa comes tonight! Yay!"

Kiyone just hung her head in disgust and marched off to her room,

tailed by her partner.

A short five minutes later, everybody was in his or her rooms and

under their blankets, trying to fall asleep. Insomnia was present in nearly

every instance, but they slowly managed to doze off, one at a time. The

only person who did not fall asleep was Russ, as he was patiently waiting

for everyone else to drift into unconsciousness. Nearly two hours after he

went to bed, he got back up, quietly let himself out of his room, and being

extra careful to not make any noise, he floated down the stairs and into the

living room, where he fished his coat out of the closet. Speedily putting it

on, he stepped outside, closed the door behind him, and lifted off into the

night sky, heading off to Korin's tower.

As he got further away from the Masaki home, he began to pour

his energy into flying, causing his aura to flare around him in a brilliant

shade of green. A vapor trail marked his flight path as he moved faster and

faster, and he made his way to the tower in very little time. Reaching the

base of the tower, he flew straight up for a few moments until he reached

Kame's lookout, where Dende and Mister Popo were waiting for him.

"Hi! How are you guys doing?" Russ greeted. He landed in front

of them and nodded his head in respect.

"Hello, Russ. We're doing well. It's nice to see you again,"

Dende said, stepping over to the saiyan and extending his right hand and

arm, which he grasped in a warm handshake.

Russ smiled widely. "I'm glad to hear it. Mister Popo, you look

well."

"I am," he responded in his deep voice. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Anyway, lets get straight to the point. Did you

guys manage to collect the Dragonballs?"

Reaching behind his back to a sack he had, Dende handed it over

to Russ. Carefully untying the string around it, an orange ball shone in the

dim sunlight that the lookout still had. Four stars were in the middle of the

ball, and under it, six more balls, each with a corresponding number of

stars.

"Oh, this is too awesome. I really, really appreciate this you guys.

But I do have a question. Can I make a wish that would modify the dragon

slightly?"

"What did you have in mind, Russ?" Dende questioned.

Russ looked at the balls, and then at the namek. "I want to take

away the dragon's ability to grant immortality to anyone who asks for it."

Looking dumbfounded for a moment, Dende scratched his head.

"I don't know. You'd have to ask him."

"What is his name, anyway?"

"Shenron is the dragon's name," Popo said.

"Hmmm. Well, let's get this show on the road and see what I can

do. Again, thanks a million for finding these things for me. I don't know

what I can do to repay this favor," Russ said, looking at the smiling namek

and at Popo.

"It's okay. You're so much like Goku in mind and spirit that it

was a treat to be able to do this for you. No need to thank us."

Russ bowed deeply. "Thank you."

Stepping away from the temple and into the courtyard, Russ

carefully arranged all seven balls in a circle, with the seven star ball in the

middle. All the balls began to glow with energy when he set the last one in

place, and he backed off a bit, startled that it began doing that.

"Heh. I guess I'm a little jumpy with anticipation," Russ called

back to Dende. "Here we go!"

Stepping back several paces, he spread his arms wide and called

forth the dragon. "Shenron! Eternal Dragon! Appear before me and grant

my wishes!" he yelled.

The balls began to glow intensely, and the clouds over Kame's

lookout grew dark and ominous, as thunderclaps roared in the distance.

Yellow streaks of lightning began arcing through the clouds, and then,

without warning, a massive bolt of golden lightning slammed into the balls,

causing them to light up in a brilliant flash of yellow energy. Russ shielded

his eyes in surprise and watched the spectacle in awe, as a huge, golden,

snakelike thing formed in the clouds over his head. After a few more

minutes, the golden energy faded away and a massive, long green dragon

floated over his head.

"My god, LOOK at that thing," Russ whispered to himself, as this

was the first time he had ever seen something as radical as this.

"You have summoned me. I will now grant you three wishes. Tell

me your first wish," Shenron rumbled, shaking the ground he stood on with

his powerful, booming voice.

"Eternal Dragon. Can I make a wish that will affect you?" Russ

asked, finally overcoming his shock to seeing such a massive entity.

Looking at him with his intense, blood red eyes, the dragon

rumbled to himself. "Make your wish," he responded.

"My first wish is for you to lose the ability to grant immortality to

anyone or anything that asks for it," Russ shouted up to the beast, hoping

against hope that he could grant such a request.

Shenron's eyes began to glow an intense red, as his body glowed

an incredible shade of yellow. A few moments later, the glowing ceased.

"Your wish has been granted," he rumbled.

Russ breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you, Eternal

Dragon!"

"Tell me your second wish," he requested.

"Yes, of course. My second wish" Russ said thoughtfully, and

then remembered. "I know. My second wish is"

Strong, radiant sunlight pierced through the darkness, sending it

away for the dawn of a new day. It was super bright outdoors, especially

with the way the sun reflected off of the ten inches of snow that had fallen

the night before. It sparkled like a perfect diamond, completely

undisturbed. It was so peaceful and serene outside that it could've melted

even the most foul of moods.

Russ, ironically, was the first to awaken this morning of Christmas

Day. Being extra quiet, he put on a new red sweater, which had 'Merry

Christmas' etched in English across the front, the green lettering covered in

white snow and icicles hanging off of some of the letters. Leaving his room

very quietly, he crept downstairs into the living room where the light of

dawn was able to illuminate the surrounding area, allowing him to see

clearly. However, he closed the blinds that faced the lake, but there was

still plenty of light remaining to be able to see clearly.

He sat down on the organ bench and patiently waited for

everybody else to wake up. It wasn't five minutes before he heard Sasami's

voice and the light thumping of footsteps as she ran down the hallway to the

stairs.

"Good morning, Sasami! Merry Christmas!" Russ greeted her.

"Merry Christmas, Russ!" she said, throwing her arms around his

neck in an affectionate hug. "Can we open presents now?"

Russ fell over and started laughing. "Hold your horses, Sasami.

Wait for everybody else to come down here first, you know?"

Aeka was next down the stairs, and she looked a little sleepy, but

happy.

"Merry Christmas, Aeka," Russ said with a big smile.

"Same to you," she responded, giving him a hug. Russ blushed.

"Why are these blinds closed?" Aeka asked while pointing to the

ones that Russ had shut a few minutes ago.

Russ stood up and moved toward her. "Don't open those yet. I'll

let you know when you can, okay? And no peeking behind them either, or

you'll ruin the surprise."

"Is it for me?"

"Maybe," Russ answered, grinning. "Just don't peek behind them.

The same goes for you, Sasami," he said, watching her move over to the

window, but she stopped when Russ caught her.

"Rats," she muttered to herself, then went back to the couch where

she plopped into the cushions, folding her arms over her chest.

A few minutes later, the entire family had come downstairs and

made their way into the living room. The tree was lit and so were the other

decorations, and it looked positively festive. Russ smiled widely, as the

happy mood was contagious. Nobuyuki had already gotten his video

camera and was busy taping the whole thing. Lord Katsuhito had shown up

a few moments later and made himself right at home.

"Can we open presents NOW?" Sasami asked, looking like she

was going to explode from the excitement.

Russ laughed, and then smiled. "Yeah, go for it. I'll pass out the

presents, if that's okay."

"Hurry up then," the little princess ordered, fidgeting with her

sweater in anticipation.

Shaking his head, the saiyan made his way over to the tree and sat

down on the floor, reached over for the first package, and read the nametag.

"This one is for Sasami, from Aeka," he announced, handing over the green

package.

Eagerly shredding the wrapping paper, she withdrew a brand new

china set from within the confines of the box. "Oh wow, these are

absolutely beautiful. Thank you, Aeka!" she said, giving her sister a hug.

"You're welcome, Sasami."

"Okay, next up, we have Aeka, from Sasami!" Russ said, handing

over another package.

Carefully opening it up, she opened the box to find a brand new

green bathrobe. Aeka held it up and admired it, then hugged her sister in

gratitude.

"Well, lets speed this up a bit," Russ said, grabbing several gifts

from under the tree. "Kiyone, this is from Mihoshi. Washu, this is from

Tenchi. Ryoko, this is from Katsuhito," he said, distributing the gifts.

"Mihoshi, this is from Washu. Nobuyuki, this one is from me. Katsuhito,

this one is from me," he said, handing it over with a slight grin. Katsuhito

didn't notice.

"Okay, let's see here," Russ said, shifting positions to get within

reach of some of the other gifts. "Aeka, this one is from Washu. Sasami,

this one is from Nobuyuki," he said, handing the little princess another gift.

It took her about two seconds to completely destroy all the wrapping paper

around it to uncover a new set of kitchen knives.

"I've been wanting a new set of these! Thank you, father!" she

said, giving Nobuyuki a big hug. He smiled and blushed.

"Anything for you, Sasami! You deserve it."

Russ continued to distribute the gifts to everybody, keeping the

ones that had his name on it nearby. After nearly twenty minutes of

ripping, tearing, and opening, all the gifts had been given. Russ got a

variety of new clothes, including that same full-length leather coat that he

saw in the mall about six months ago, complete with sunglasses. That came

from Aeka, which he thanked her with a big hug. She seemed satisfied. He

also got a bunch of new exercise suits, a variety of summer clothing

including a new swimsuit, shorts, and t-shirts. Unfortunately, he didn't get

anything in terms of new technology, and he was slightly hoping for

something along those lines. But he didn't let it bother him.

"Well, is everybody satisfied with your gifts?" Russ asked, still

sitting on the floor.

"Yes!" came the unanimous answer.

"Hold everything!" Tenchi announced, standing up from his seat

on the couch.

Everybody stopped and looked at him, curious as to what he

wanted.

"I have one more gift to give."

Watching him curiously, Tenchi walked over to where Ryoko was

sitting and offered his hand, which she accepted graciously. Gently pulling

her up, he stepped back a few paces and faced her, his face slightly blue and

pale as his hands trembled.

"Tenchi?" she said, looking at the tenseness in his face.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to make

himself relax. Dropping down to one knee, he reached behind him, pulled

out a gift that he had stashed in his clothes behind his back, and clapped his

hands together in front of him, revealing a very small velvet box. Looking

at her in an intenseness that she had only seen a couple of times before, she

waited for what he had to say or what he was going to do.

"Ryoko, I know you've been waiting for this for a long time, and

I'm finally ready for it," he said, opening up the small box, revealing a

gorgeous, diamond engagement ring. "Will you marry me?"

Jaws began dropping everywhere in the room, including Russ's.

They all stood in stunned silence, completely in shock that Tenchi had just

proposed to Ryoko.

Ryoko herself stood quietly for a moment, until the tears welled up

in her eyes and started falling down her cheeks. Nodding her head, she

gave him his answer. "Yes. Yes, I will marry you."

Standing up from his position on the floor, Tenchi removed the

ring from the box and carefully placed it on her finger, and then kissed her

passionately.

Nobuyuki had videotaped the whole thing, and he too started

crying, so very proud that his son had asked the girl he was in love with to

marry him.

A pair of hands started clapping, and everybody else joined in a

moment later, giving Ryoko and Tenchi their very best. Everybody

approved, even Aeka, who had a smile on her face as she clapped her hands

together again and again.

"Congratulations, you two," Russ said. "This is the first proposal

I've ever seen in real life. May you two have a happy and fulfilled life

together!"

Tenchi and Ryoko smiled, kissed each other again, and then

hugged each other, accepting everybody's approval with grace.

"Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate it," Tenchi said, gently

drying Ryoko's eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

Russ smiled. "Well, now it's MY turn to give you the REAL gifts

that I picked out. I really went out on a limb this year, so I hope you guys

appreciate these things."

Everybody looked at him strangely, and waited for him to show

them what he was talking about. Standing up and walking over to

Nobuyuki, he stopped in front of him. "May I borrow your camera for this

one?"

"Certainly!" he said, carefully handing Russ his camcorder. "You

push this button to record, this one to zoom in and out, and this one to

manually focus, but you shouldn't need to mess with that."

"Good. Okay," he said, making his way over to the blinds.

"Aeka? Stand up and move to the front here, but stand in the middle of the

room."

Everybody turned to look at the Royal Princess, as she did as she

was told. "What's this about, Russ?" she asked.

Grinning and almost shaking with his own anticipation, he took in

a deep breath. "Your gift was too big to fit in the house. But anyway, close

your eyes. Everybody, try to keep your reactions quiet, as I don't want to

ruin the surprise."

Looking at each individual person, they nodded their heads as

Aeka closed her eyes and waited. Turning around, Russ opened the blinds

that faced the lake. Glancing back at Aeka and reading the completely

baffled looks on everybody else's faces, he turned the camera onto Aeka.

"Yu can open your eyes now, Aeka."

When she did, her face couldn't have been more awestruck than

having someone ask her to marry her too. Her hand went to her mouth and

tears instantly welled up in her eyes as she looked out toward the lake.

"Oh my god Ryu-Oh How I don't My god" she

stammered. Ryu-oh, her spaceship tree, was gone. But in its place,

completely rebuilt as if it were never touched, her spaceship sat silently in

the lake, awaiting Aeka's return. The tears were now completely free

flowing out of the corners of her eyes, and Russ had a smile on his face that

a crowbar couldn't remove. He kept the camera rolling on her face as she

slowly approached the window and continued to admire her six hundred

meter long spaceship. It looked as good as the day it was crafted.

Russ watched her for a few more moments, and then handed the

camera back to Nobuyuki, who continued to videotape the Jurian Princess.

Russ approached her from the side and laid his hand on her shoulder, giving

it a tender squeeze. "Merry Christmas, Aeka. Ho, ho, ho," he chuckled.

She turned toward him and started crying. Grabbing him viciously

in a hug, she buried her face in Russ's chest and continued to weep with

joy. Wrapping his powerful arms around her, he held her close, waiting for

her to stop crying, which only took a few moments.

"How did you do it?" she finally asked.

"Just call me Santa," Russ responded, smiling. "I hope this is to

your liking. You mentioned that you would've liked to have your ship way

back when we first met. I remembered that and tried to find a way to make

it happen, and I did. Nevertheless, what you see out there was nothing short

of a miracle.

Washu, Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, and everybody else continued to

stare at the ship in awe and wonder, completely unable to figure out how he

made it happen. Not even Washu could find a logical conclusion.

"Okay, One down, several to go! Washu?" Russ asked, grabbing

the scientist's attention.

"What is it, Russ?"

"You can do a compatibility test between two people right now,

can't you?"

She looked at him strangely. "Yes I can, but why?"

Russ grinned. "Scan both Tenchi and Ryoko. You should find

something quite incredible and unexpected this time."

Tenchi, Ryoko, and Washu all looked at Russ like he was talking

nonsense. However, Tenchi turned toward Ryoko in a little bit of

confusion.

"What does he mean, Ryoko?" he asked.

Ryoko hung her head, deciding to just come right out and say it.

"We're incompatible, Tenchi. We're not capable of having children."

Tenchi looked at her in complete surprise. "But I thought you

were taking contraceptives or something to keep from becoming pregnant.

You mean we can't have children at all?"

Shaking her head, she sat in silence.

Tenchi gently curled his arm around her. "It doesn't matter

Ryoko. It doesn't matter to me one little bit," he said, pulling her a little

closer.

"That's my son!" Nobuyuki said, patting Tenchi on the shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, Tenchi!"

"Dad, cut that out. It's embarrassing."

Washu was busy scanning them during their little conversation, but

when she finished, her eyebrow went up in skepticism. "That can't be

right hold still, you two. I'm going to scan you again," she said, trashing

her current findings and resetting the scanner, making some minor

adjustments.

A few moments later she finished, and this time, she scratched her

head, trashed her findings and reset her computer once again. After the

third scan, she looked at the both of them in surprise. "I don't understand

why, but I have a new compatibility rating. My computer is showing ninety

nine point four percent. I can't figure out why. It doesn't make any sense."

Coming up from behind her, Russ laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Your computer is correct," he said quietly. "Merry Christmas, Ryoko and

Tenchi. You two are fully capable of having a healthy, happy, beautiful

baby boy or girl. Congratulations."

All three of them stared at him in much the same way they had

when he opened the blinds to the lake and when Tenchi proposed.

"What did you do to them?" Washu exclaimed, banishing her

computer back to subspace.

"Like I told Aeka, call me Santa," he said, grinning. "I performed

another miracle last night. I hope this is what you two would've wanted,"

he said, looking at the young couple on the couch. Everybody else in the

room sat in dead silence, completely transfixed on the saiyan. Almost the

entire group had the same awestruck expression, and Russ could sense it.

He blushed slightly and smiled.

Ryoko got up from the couch, walked over to Russ, and threw her

arms around him in a hug. "I don't know what you did, but thank you. You

have no idea what this means to me."

"I have a pretty good idea, but you're welcome," Russ responded,

returning her hug.

Tenchi got up from the couch as well, made his way over to Russ,

and extended his hand. Releasing Ryoko, Russ grasped Tenchi's arm,

pulled him over, and gave him a manly bear hug.

"Merry Christmas, Tenchi," Russ said.

"Thank you, Russ."

Releasing each other a few moments later, Russ returned to the

center of the room. "Okay, next up, Kiyone and Mihoshi. If I'm not

mistaken, you should have something waiting for you in your spaceship. If

not, I have some bones to break," he chuckled.

"What is it, Russ?" Kiyone asked, curious as to what he could've

gotten the two of them.

"Well, I contacted the Galaxy Police headquarters and had a long

discussion with your commander. After a little debating, he agreed to do a

favor for the two of you, since I described some problems that you've

had. Your financial troubles are over. From this day forward, the Galaxy

Police will be providing you with funding so you can remain at your

apartment and not have to work any odd jobs around the place. They'll pay

for your rent, food, clothing, and whatever other necessity you need."

Kiyone's jaw dropped and Mihoshi's smile was as bright as the

sun. "How did you convince him of that?"

"If I told you that, it would ruin the thrill of the surprise now,

wouldn't it?" Russ asked. "You're welcome, you two. I hope this is

satisfactory. I'm sorry it isn't as huge as Aeka's spaceship or Ryoko and

Tenchi's compatibility, but it is the best I could come up with."

Kiyone shook her head. "It's perfect. Thank you, Russ. We don't

deserve it, but thank you."

Russ smiled and waved his hand. "Forget about it. I do nice

things for my friends. Relax on your days off and don't worry about money

anymore. You have no idea how much it drove me nuts yesterday to not

spoil the surprise when Mihoshi started talking about your money problems

again."

Kiyone glared at her partner, but then smiled and nodded her head.

"Okay, next up, Washu!" he said, turning toward the scientist, who

was now wearing her binary watch. "Are you ready for this?"

"Nothing surprises me anymore, Russ. What did you do?"

Russ scowled for a moment, then smiled again. "I think this will

be a very pleasant surprise. If you go into your lab, you'll see what I mean.

There is someone waiting to see you in there."

Cocking her eyebrow curiously, she turned and made her way back

to her lab with Russ smiling after her. She disappeared behind the door a

few moments later.

"What did you do for her?" Aeka asked, curious.

Turning toward her, Russ grinned. "She'd have my head if she

knew what I did to get the information I needed to make this happen. We'll

probably see her and her son later on today."

"WHAT?!" Aeka yelled, in much the same way that everybody

else had expressed their disbelief. "What did you do?"

"As everybody knows, I'm partially telepathic. I can read minds if

I touch a person or focus on one from a short distance away. It's really

difficult to do it without being noticed, but I managed to do it with her. I

learned her son's name from several memories that she had of him. You

have no idea how hard it was to track down that guy," he said, scratching

his head.

"Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable," Aeka said, sinking into

the lazy boy reclining chair that was nearby.

"I'm sure you guys were wondering where I was when I

disappeared for days on end. But I'm not done yet," Russ said, looking at

the little blue haired princess. "Your turn. You and I are going on a little

trip to visit someone. Get your coat. We'll leave in a few minutes."

Sasami looked a little nervous, but she stood up. "Where are we

going?"

"You'll see when we get there. I just hope the person I'm looking

for is still there as well," Russ said. "Everybody, we'll be back in a couple

hours. It'll take us about a half hour to get there, and I decided on letting

her stay there for an hour or two. When I come back, I'll reveal the final

gift I have planned. This one is for everybody, and I'm sure it'll be nothing

short of incredible."

"Sounds good, Russ. With some of the stuff you've already done,

I'm greatly looking forward to what you have up your sleeve," Nobuyuki

said, standing up. "Have a safe trip and we'll be here when you get back."

"Good. Lord Katsuhito? I expect you to be here, as this pertains

to you as well," Russ said, looking dead serious at the priest.

"I will be here when you return."

Russ smiled, fished out a remote control, and pushed the button. A

black hole opened up near the lake, and his Tie Defender was ejected from

subspace. It landed gently on the snow, creating three depressions from the

landing gear.

"Come on, Sasami. Let's go," he said, making his way to the door,

followed by the little princess. Ryo-Ohki bounded along with Sasami and

leapt onto her shoulder, wanting to go too.

She was wearing the new coat and mittens that Russ had gotten for

her, and she looked adorable in it. They quickly made their way across the

snow to the fighter, and Russ opened the hatch. Giving Sasami a boost, he

put her in the back seat and Russ climbed into the front one. Punching

several buttons, the hatched closed and sealed, and the ion engines came to

life, creating their familiar roar. The fighter lifted off of the ground as Russ

waved to everybody who had gathered at the window. Hitting the throttle,

he began to move the fighter toward space, keeping it steady as it rocketed

through the atmosphere. The lightness of the blue atmosphere quickly

faded to the black of space as the Tie Defender left Earth's gravity.

"Okay, entering hyperspace in five four three two

one" Russ said, pushing the hyperspace lever completely forward. The

stars that were visible in the cockpit suddenly became very long starlines as

the space around the fighter became a mass of color, swirling around the

outside.

Sasami watched the transition from normal space to hyperspace in

wonder. "It's so beautiful," she said, watching Russ hit a few more keys on

the console. A counter came up on his screen that read twenty-five minutes,

and slowly began counting backwards.

"Well, we've got twenty five minutes to burn," Russ said, sitting

back in his leather seat, listening to the low rumble of the hyperdrive.

"Would you like to listen to some music or something else?"

Sasami looked down at Russ and smiled. "Music will be fine."

"Okay. I had loaded my entire music collection into the database

here on the fighter. Fortunately, it has an enormous amount of space, so

I've got room for whatever else needs to go in here. But why would you

care about that," Russ teased. Punching a few keys, he called up a play list

of anime songs that he enjoyed, starting with Tokimeki no Doukasen from

Fushigi Yugi. Hitting the play button, it began, and Russ cranked up the

volume so he could feel it in his seat. Sasami smiled and relaxed, patiently

waiting for the flight to be over with.

"Hello?" Washu said, looking around her lab for the mystery

visitor that Russ said she was supposed to have. "Anybody here?"

Nobody answered her, but she did hear a very faint clicking of

keys on a computer keyboard. Wondering where it was coming from, she

stealthily made her way around her massive computers, test tubes, and other

sensitive electronic equipment until she found the source of the typing

noise.

A young man, appearing to only be in his mid twenties, was seated

at her phantom laptop, playing on her computer system. Nearly freaking

out, Washu stopped herself from shouting at the guy for messing with her

equipment. But there was something strangely odd about him too. He had

blonde hair, but it was fairly dark in color, and his skin tone was tanned as

well. Glasses were positioned on his nose, and they reflected the computer

screen in the lenses. Still, even though she had never seen this man before,

a peculiar feeling kept nagging her at the back of her mind.

Finally gathering up the nerve to approach the boy, Washu stepped

out from behind some of her computers and slowly walked over to him,

allowing her feet to make just enough noise to be noticeable. Seconds later,

the typing ceased and the man swiveled around in his chair, a look of

happiness on his face.

Washu raised her eyebrow in suspicion, and then looked into his

green eyes. "Who are you, and what are you doing on my computer?"

The young man just smiled, then gestured with his index finger for

Washu to come over. Slowly making her way over to him, she stopped

when she stood next to him, turning her attention to the computer screen,

which had a very, very old photograph on it. It was of a beautiful baby boy,

only about six months old, with blonde hair, green eyes, and dressed in a

white, one-piece baby suit with a pink undershirt. The baby was smiling,

almost looking like it was giggling in happiness. The baby had one tooth in

his bottom jaw, and it looked absolutely adorable.

Washu stared at the photograph and then turned toward the young

man with a vengeance. "What the hell are you doing here!? Why are you

going through my personal files?" Washu snapped, clenching her fists at her

sides. "This stuff is none of your business! Get away from my computer,

now!"

Slowly backing away from the laptop, he continued to give a soft,

warm smile, but he did as he was told, putting up his hands submissively.

"I ought to turn you into the police for trespassing. I don't know

who you are or what you're doing here, but you better leave," she

demanded, banishing her computer back into subspace, where it belonged.

Sighing to himself, the young man grinned. "It has only been a

couple of days since you last looked at that file," he finally said, his voice

light, warm, and happy.

Washu glared at him. "And what business of that is yours? How

dare you go through my personal stuff, pulling up things that you have

absolutely no right to see! Get out of my lab, now!"

"Short tempered as always," he chuckled. "Father always told me

about how my mother would fly off the handle at the strangest times."

Narrowing her eyes at the strange man, she took a step closer to

him. "I told you to leave. If you do not leave, I'll force you out in the most

painful way possible. Now get out of here," she threatened, staring him

directly into his eyes.

"Attack first, ask questions later. That was another thing my dad

used to tell me about my mom, even though she usually told him to do just

the opposite," he chuckled. "Don't you want to know who I am first?"

"Frankly, I don't care who you say you are. I come down here to

meet someone, and that someone I'm supposed to meet was going through

my personal files! Do you have any idea how violating that feels?!" she

shouted.

Becoming thoughtful for a moment, he shook his head. "I'm sorry

I offended you, but I wanted to see that picture again for myself. It's been

so long."

Stopping dead in her tracks, her face froze into a strange, but blank

expression. "What do you mean, again? That is the only picture that exists

of him."

The young man shook his head as he reached behind him, felt

under his robes, pulled out a small wallet, and opened it to a spot where he

kept his photographs. Thumbing through five different ones, he stopped at

the identical picture that was on Washu's screen a moment ago. Looking

back at Washu, he smiled.

"This is me, about twenty thousand years ago. Look familiar,

Professor Washu?"

For the second time, she became stunned, not knowing what to say

or do. Searching for the right words to say, she remained silent, not finding

anything that would overcome the shock she was feeling. However, a

moment later, her skepticism returned.

"You could've printed that photo and stuffed it in your pocket.

That means nothing," Washu growled. "I still don't know who you are or

why you're here. I'm sorry, but I'm going to ask you to leave again."

Now it was the young man who had a look of stunned hurt on his

face. He hung his head, trying to find something that would change the

little scientists mind. "And you still don't want to know who I am? Most

people would've."

"It doesn't matter. The only thing I want to know is why you were

going through my files?" Washu said, folding her arms over her chest,

staring directly into his eyes.

Looking toward where the computer used to be, he again sighed.

"I wanted to see if my picture was still in your database. That's all. I

wanted to see if you still thought about me, or had a picture of me still, even

after all of this time."

"That isn't you!" Washu shouted. "My son has been missing for a

damned twenty thousand years! He's gone and I'll never see him again! I

searched for thousands of years, going to the galaxy police, going to data

archives all over the universe, trying to find any damn reference to my son

and I've always, always come up blank! How dare you say that is you!"

she screamed, now approaching the breaking point. "Those bastards took

him away from me! My son is gone! That was from a life long past, and

I've gotten over it!"

Quietly listening to her outburst, he sat back slightly in the chair.

"Liar."

Washu's eyes bulged slightly, but she became deathly quiet.

"If it didn't matter, why have you accessed that photograph so

frequently? You still miss him and still want to see your son again, no

matter what. A mother NEVER, EVER forgets her family, or a child. Ever.

Saying that she did is nothing but an untruthful, selfish, lie. You're lying to

not only me, but to yourself as well, and you know it," he said, not raising

his voice, but giving her a poker face.

Narrowing her eyes to catlike slits, she opened her right hand and

let it go straight across his face, her hand leaving a perfect, red imprint of

itself on his cheek. "Get out," she whispered.

"Are you running away from your problem again?" he asked, not

budging a millimeter.

Tears squeezed themselves out from under Washu's eyelids. "I

SAID, GET OUT!" she screamed, balling up her fist and driving it straight

at his face.

Bringing his hand up, he caught her fist in his palm and held it

there. Standing up out of his chair, and then kneeling down to Washu's

height, he looked directly into her face. "You know, when this guy named

Russ approached me, I didn't know what to think either. My mother had

been gone for over twenty thousand years, and I was always told that I was

taken away from her, because our family was so rich and prestigious, and

because our mother wasn't, we were taken away from her. I only had one

photo of my mom and all the stories that my father had told me about her.

He always said that she was the most brilliant mind in the galaxy and that

she had no equal in the universe. If she didn't have a correct answer for

something, there was no answer, or she'd invent a correct one. She was a

little cocky and a bit arrogant, but father always found those to be charming

qualities about her. He loved her like no other and he missed her greatly

when we left. My father always told me that he wanted to go back to her,

but he wasn't allowed to. If he did, my mom, him, and me would've been

killed, or so the men said. We were forbidden to see her ever again. All the

records of our existence were erased and we were given new identities. We

started our lives over on a new planet, with a new identity, and a new home.

Provided for and always cared for, it was easy for me to forget about my

mother, since I was so young when I was taken away. My father, on the

other hand, grew gravely ill from lovesickness. He missed her so much that

his heart shattered into a million pieces, and couldn't be put back together

again. He did have a new wife, but she wasn't able to fulfill the void that

was in his heart, even though she genuinely tried. She loved him and me

like we were her own, but it wasn't enough. About a thousand years after

we left, my father died. My step mom was very heartbroken, but she

continued to live her life to take care of me. God bless her heart," he said,

still holding onto Washu's hand, looking straight into her eyes. "A few

months ago, this super huge guy named Russ came to see me in my office

one day. I've never seen him before then, but he was very nice, kind, and

considerate. He asked me if he could ask me some personal questions about

my past, which I agreed to, as long as they weren't offensive. The first

question out of his mouth was, 'Who was your mother?' Now I asked

myself, 'What kind of question is that?' but I answered him anyway. I said

it was Nikki, who was my stepmother. He then asked if she was my

stepmother, to which I said yes. After that, he asked me who my biological

mother was, but that I didn't really have an answer for. He then questioned

me if I had ever heard of a scientific genius named Washu Hakubi. Now

that question stunned me, because I remember hearing the last name of

Hakubi many times from my father, and even from my stepmother. The

name Washu had come up a couple of times between my step mom and my

father, but my mom always said to forget about her. I had no idea what she

was talking about and I never had an opportunity to really ask her," he

explained. Looking into Washu's eyes more gently, he continued. "I don't

know how Russ found me, but there was something honest about him that

made me trust him and what he was saying. He said he spent about a month

searching for me, and he was ecstatic that he had finally found me. I

couldn't figure out why, because like I said before, I never met the guy. I

was at work at the time, doing secretary work on a planet about halfway

between here and Jurai, but he said he wasn't looking to meet me

personally, but he was looking for me for someone else. That someone else

was named Washu."

Washu started trembling, but she didn't stop the young man. He

noticed it and felt that she was trembling, so he let her sit down on her

chair. She remained silent, the tears still lightly flowing out of the corners

of her eyes and letting them dribble down to her chin. Sniffling, she wiped

her eyes off with the sleeve of her uniform and took in a deep breath, trying

to calm down.

"Needless to say," he continued. "It was quite a surprise when

Russ explained everything to me. But even he wasn't a hundred percent

sure, so he asked me if he could read my mind and search for a particular

memory that I might have. He said that it was harmless, and at the time, I

thought he was bluffing or just trying to pull my leg. But it wouldn't have

mattered anyway, since I really have nothing to hide. I allowed him to

search my mind, which did have a very strange sensation to it. I could feel

him going deeper and deeper into my memories of my very young

childhood, until he found a particular image that he pulled up, allowing both

of us to see the memory. It was that same picture I had on the screen here a

moment ago, on your computer. Russ pulled away from me in utter surprise

and looked at me with the biggest smile I had ever seen. 'Bingo,' he said.

'After interviewing over a dozen people, I finally found what I was looking

for. Do you know who that red haired girl is?' he asked me, pulling up a

different memory. I had said no, since the memory was so old and I had

never learned the name to that person. He then told me, 'That is a person

named Washu, a once-professor or student over at the science academy.'

Now that I found interesting, because my father said he met my mother

there. But I never knew if it was my stepmother or my real mother. I never

bothered to ask. I still had the photo of that girl in my wallet, and had no

idea why I kept it there, especially when I really didn't know her, but I felt

compelled to keep it there. She was familiar, somehow. Anyway, he then

asked me what my name was, which I responded with the name I was given

and was called, ever since I can remember. My given name is Akaki

Yubiki, and that is what I've gone by for the past twenty thousand years.

But somehow, the name Hakubi was familiar still. I couldn't place it, but

Russ helped me out with it. He continued to probe my memory, refreshing

events that even I thought I had forgotten. Finally, after nearly an hour of

that mind-meld or whatever it was he was doing, he found another memory

where the name, Washu Hakubi, was actually said. I was held in my

mother's arms, which happened to be the red-haired girl, and my father was

standing next to her, both of them looking incredibly happy and contented.

That was when I knew that Russ was not bluffing."

Looking up at him in silence, and then raising a quivering hand,

she carefully touched the side of his face that still had the hand mark on it,

caressing it gently. She sniffled again, and gestured for him to continue.

"He then dropped a bombshell on me. 'I know who your mother

is, and I know where she is staying,' he said. 'I would like to take you

there, soon, to see her again. Would you go if I took you there?' Of course,

I was skeptical about it all. Here was a man who had just shown up out of

the blue and claimed to have found my mother. But I just couldn't shake

that feeling that kept nagging me at the back of my mind, which was of him

being completely honest. I took him up on that offer, and he told me that he

would be back in a couple months to pick me up. He said that I was going

to be a 'Christmas Present' for Washu, my mother. I had no idea what he

meant by a Christmas present, but I went along with it anyway. I guess I'm

just a little too trusting, but it has never really backfired on me in all my

years of being this way. He came and got me about two hours ago, and I've

been waiting here for you since then. He looked like a zombie and said he

was going to go back to bed once he delivered me to your lab. Anyway, I

really wasn't sure how I'd be able to introduce myself to you, but I thought

that picture on your computer would be perfect. The only two people in this

universe that could've known about it should've been you and I. I don't

know how Russ figured it out, but I was completely stunned when I found it

in your database. I was just about to close down your computer when you

came up behind me."

Still sitting in silence, she pondered over his entire story, almost

unable to think because of her heightened stress. Finally looking up into his

eyes, a little doubt still remaining, she swiveled over to where her phantom

computer had re-appeared and called up the picture once again. Staring at it

through her tear filled eyes, she looked back at Akaki, and then at the

picture, still trying to decide what to do. She could see her face reflected in

the computer screen and also in Akaki's glasses, and she had a gut feeling

that he was telling the truth. But she had to be absolutely certain.

"May I take a physical examination of you?" she asked weakly,

finally finding her voice.

Akaki smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, if it'll make you feel

better."

Keying a few commands onto her computer, the scanning globe

appeared behind Akaki, took off most of his clothes and hoisted him into

the air, restraining his movements, causing him to have a look of shock and

bewilderment on his face.

"What the heck is this thing?" he yelped, as the scanning headband

set down on his head.

"Do not worry. This is just my scanning device. I use it on all my

test subjects," she said, again wiping the drying tears from her face. "It will

only take a few minutes."

"Uhhh, okay. But what about those needles that are hovering

around my arms?" he asked, a large sweatdrop forming on the side of his

head.

Washu tried to smile. "They don't poke you. Just relax. I'll be

done in a minute," she said, typing various commands on her console,

indicating the scans she wanted to perform and which ones she wanted to

bypass. She took his bodily dimensions down to the angstrom, noting that

he had a build similar to Tenchi's, but slightly less muscular. Also taking a

DNA scan, a retina scan, and various other scans that would confirm an

identity even if it were altered, she patiently waited for the computer to

finish. A few moments later, it did, and she released Akaki from his

restraints, dumping him unceremoniously onto the cold floor.

"Oww," he mumbled, picking himself up and putting on his

clothes that were sitting on a nearby cushion. Washu cackled to herself, as

she had intentionally programmed the globe to do that on release.

The results had finally come up on her computer, and still

maintaining a shred of skepticism, it all vanished when she looked at it.

Her happy mood seemed to melt away, replaced by the same sadness that

she felt when he was taken away so many years ago, or at least, that's the

way it looked to Akaki.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, he peered at the scan results.

"Are you okay?"

She slowly turned to look at him, her eyes filled with tears once

again, as she slowly reached up with her hands, carefully feeling his face.

She gently removed his glasses, setting them on a nearby table, allowing her

hands to feel every curve of his visage. The slight roughness of his cheeks

told her that he hadn't shaved for a day or two, but it didn't matter. Pulling

him down to her height, she held his face directly in front of hers, and she

looked directly into his eyes, making all of her doubts go up in oblivion,

never to be seen again.

Washu started to breathe heavily, and then started audibly crying.

Akaki gently reached up to her hands, removing them from his face and

placing them in her lap, he smiled. "I'm home, mother."

In a flash, she threw her arms around him, crying heavily into his

shoulder, holding him tightly. Akaki carefully wrapped his arms around his

mother, whom he hadn't held in over twenty thousand years, allowing his

own tears to squeeze out of his eyes. It didn't matter to him, as the

happiness he felt couldn't have been taken away even if the universe around

him crumbled.

"My son" Washu cried, her body shaking with sobs as she

clenched onto him even tighter. "My son has returned to me!"

A quiet buzzer went off inside the fighter's cockpit, indicating that

it was approaching their destination. Russ pulled the hyperdrive lever back,

and the colors of hyperspace quickly faded back into stars as they

approached an asteroid field.

"Where are we?" Sasami asked, looking around.

"This place is called Sargasso. Believe it or not, you've been here

before. Does the name sound familiar?"

Sasami looked around and thought for a few moments. "No. What

is Sargasso?"

Russ chuckled. "Like I said, you've been here before. You'll

see," he said, flying into the field of rocks at a slow speed. Keeping an eye

on his scanners, he picked up several derelict vessels that had no engine

power or any kind of output. "If I remember correctly, Kiyone called this

the spaceship graveyard."

Looking worried, the little princess continued to look around,

wondering where they were and why they were here. "That sounds scary."

Chuckling quietly, Russ continued to fly at a slow pace, avoiding

the moving boulders with skill. The fighter's shields were up, but there

would be no way it could survive a direct run-in with one of the massive

meteors.

Russ's face became a look of concern after a few minutes of flying

around. "Hello out there," he said to himself, drawing a giggle from

Sasami.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, leaning forward in the seat.

"A ship that I saw in your mind," Russ responded. He then

blushed. "I looked into your memory to find something that could be an

awesome Christmas gift to give you. The best way I figured to find that out

would be to look into your memories. I chose this, figuring it would've

been the best choice."

"Okay, when did you do it," she asked, annoyed. "You should

know better than to invade a persons mind without their permission."

Russ turned a few shades redder. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't think

of anything that would've been a better Christmas gift than this. It made it

so much easier to figure out after looking into your memories. Don't worry,

I was very specific in what I was looking for and didn't see anything that

you'd be embarrassed about."

Continuing to look at him, she folded her arms over her chest. "I

don't believe you."

"Ugh!" Russ exclaimed, hanging his head. "I'm sorry, Sasami. I

won't do it again, okay?"

"Okay. As long as you promise."

"I do. Okay?"

Smiling once more, she nodded her head. "Okay. Now why are

we here?"

Continuing to scan his sensors within a one hundred kilometer

radius, he still couldn't find what he was looking for. "I don't get it. Well,

let's check out a few of these abandoned vessels and see if any of them

match what I'm looking for."

Picking up the throttle a little, he sped up and flew over to the first

vessel, which was not much larger than an assault transport from Tom's star

destroyer. Another vessel was near that, looking like a cross of Jurian

technology with something from the galaxy police.

"I guess this ship must've been an experiment that failed," Russ

said, pointing to it.

"It looks weird," Sasami said. "Hey, what's that over there?" she

asked, pointing to another dead ship off to their right.

Turning the fighter to get a better view, it was a large carrier

vessel, colored steel gray. It looked like one of the shuttles that the United

States used back in the nineteen nineties, but much larger. "Looks like an

Earth shuttle," Russ said, flying near it slowly, getting a good look at it.

"Well, lets see what else is out here. There's a huge, abandoned vessel over

here," Russ said, flying toward a massive asteroid. Upon reaching it, he

pitched his fighter upward, flying over it skillfully. On the other side, an

absolutely colossal, fifteen hundred meter long civilian cruiser ship became

visible. Looking almost like a boat or ship that the Earthlings use to sail the

open seas, it was still a sight to behold. Colored white with red and blue

trim on the bridge and engines, it was the ship Russ was looking for.

"Found it!" he said excitedly, carefully flying his Tie Defender

over to the ship.

Sasami gasped in surprise. "I recognize that ship!" she said,

leaning as far forward as the seat restraints would allow her to. "Mirei was

on that thing!"

"You got it," Russ said, smiling. "I hope she's still there."

"This was the present you were giving me?" Sasami asked, looking

down on the saiyan who was busy trying to find a dock to land his fighter

in.

"Yes. Merry Christmas, Sasami. I hope this is a nice surprise for

you," Russ said, turning around and winking his eye at her.

"It's perfect!" she said, clasping her hands together and smiling

widely.

Finding a suitable hanger, Russ slowly guided his fighter into the

waiting bay, landed, and shut down the engines, but left the power supply

and life support systems engaged. Scanning the outside of his fighter, it

indicated that there was an atmosphere.

"That's really strange. For some reason, there is air outside. But

there is no power onboard this ship, no life support, no shields. Nothing,

but there is air. It's a perfectly breathable atmosphere. I don't get it."

"Well, let's go out and see if we" she began to say, but stopped

in mid-sentence.

Russ was also looking in the same direction she was, his eyes

almost bulging out of his eye sockets. A young girl, Sasami's age, stood

not ten feet away from his current position. She was semi-transparent, like

before, and she had on a very pretty pink dress. But her face, hair, and

hands, looked like something out of an aged photograph. She was tinted a

sequoia brown color, and she didn't seem to have any other color about her

besides her dress.

"Do you see what I see?" Russ asked, looking directly at Mirei.

Strangely enough, he didn't see her as the white ghost that the others had

seen when they had caught sight of her, but instead, he saw what Sasami

did.

Ryo-Ohki, who was asleep on Sasami's lap, woke up and

stretched, looked at both Sasami and Russ's expressions, and then she too,

looked directly at the spirit. She meowed a few times, leapt off of Sasami's

lap, phased through the outer hull of the fighter and bounded up to Mirei,

who smiled in response. She casually waved her arm through the air,

illuminating the docking bay, causing all of the junk and debris to

disappear.

"Uh I've never seen a ghost on this plane of existence before,"

Russ whispered to the princess. "I'll admit, this is a first for me."

"Well, come on! Let's go out there and see her!" Sasami urged,

undoing the restraints.

"Okay," he said, not sounding convinced at all, hitting the hatch

release.

Air hissed out of the cockpit as the pressure on the inside and

outside equalized, and the door swung open. Reaching back to Sasami, he

helped her out of her seat and gently set her down on the steel floor of the

hanger bay. Russ followed her out a moment later and sealed the hatch,

then moved next to Sasami.

Mirei smiled and made her way over to them. "Hi, Sasami. I was

wondering if I'd ever see you again," she said, in a very kind, sweet voice.

She stepped over to Sasami and hugged her.

"Mirei! I missed you so much since I last saw you. I always

wondered if I could ever come back out here to see you again. I'm so

happy that you're still here!" she exclaimed.

Russ stood by quietly, watching the two girls converse with each

other.

Taking notice of the saiyan, Mirei smiled at him. "Who are you?"

she asked.

Grinning and then kneeling down to her level, he introduced

himself. "My name is Russ. I'm a friend of Sasami here," he said,

extending his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you."

Carefully reaching out to him, Mirei took his hand in hers and

gently shook it. Surprisingly, Russ could feel the warmth emanating from

her, and she felt almost alive. However, he couldn't sense any energy from

her at all. No ki and no life. It was almost like he was looking at a

hologram.

"So you're Mirei," Russ said, releasing her hand. "I learned about

you from Sasami. It's nice to meet you."

Bowing politely, she nodded her head. "It's nice to meet you too,

Russ. How did you know where to find us?"

"I only knew of this location, but finding your ship was a little

more tricky. I'm glad it is so big, since that made it easier to find."

"Yeah, and Russ looked into my memory to learn about you too,"

Sasami said, giving an evil glare at Russ, who looked away and twiddled his

thumbs. "Yeah, you!" she said, emphasizing her disapproval.

"I said I was sorry. Sheesh. Would you have preferred that I

didn't learn about Mirei?" Russ returned, folding his arms over his chest

and looking down on her.

Sighing quietly to herself, she smiled and shook her head. "It's

okay. I'm just teasing."

"You guys must be hungry," Mirei said, looking at the two of

them. "I can hear Russ's stomach growling away."

"OH NO!" Sasami said, smacking her forehead with her hand. "I

completely forgot about making breakfast for everybody! What am I going

to do?" she said, looking over at Russ.

Russ smiled. "Don't worry about them. Nobuyuki can cook and

Katsuhito can as well. No need for worries," he chuckled."Just enjoy

yourself here."

Looking back at Mirei with her face slightly red, she looked down

at the floor shyly. "Yeah, we're pretty hungry. Starving, really. I never

really noticed how hungry I am until you brought it up," she giggled.

"Well, come on. We'll go to my room and I'll serve us up a big

feast," she said, turning toward the hanger door, which was open about two

feet. Mirei and Sasami fit through just fine, but Russ had to squeeze

through. He didn't want to disturb anything.

In the hallway it was dark, but again, Mirei waved her hand and

like magic, the hallway illuminated in brilliant, warm light. Russ still

couldn't sense any power or any kind of forces acting around him, and it

made him uneasy. He had never encountered an ethereal life form before.

Maybe she wasn't really dead and was instead a different kind of life

altogether.

"Is something bothering you, Russ?" Mirei asked, looking at him

with concern.

"Well, I was thinking about you, actually," he said, smiling and

scratching the back of his head.

Looking down at the floor slightly, she put her hand out in front of

her. "It's this, isn't it?"

"No. Your appearance doesn't bother me at all. I can do some

really strange things too," he said, continuing to walk behind her and

Sasami.

"Is it the fact that I'm a ghost?"

"A little. I can't sense any energy at all coming from you, yet,

you're right here in front of me. Don't let it bother you at all. It's just my

urge to try to explain everything. In a way, I'm similar to Washu when it

comes to things like this," he responded. "But I am curious. Why are you

remaining on this ship? That's my main concern."

Stopping in her tracks, she turned completely around to face Russ,

her face downcast. "I don't know. I've always been here, alone. The first

time I had a friend is when Sasami came along about two years ago. And

I've been here ever since."

"Oh Mirei," Sasami began. "I'm sorry. It must be very lonely

here."

Mirei turned back to the princess. "I try to not let it bother me, as I

find things to do from time to time. But yes, it is lonely here." She slowly

began walking down the hallway to her room.

"Maybe I can find a way to help you," Russ said, placing his hand

on her shoulder. "But let's not worry about that for now. We came to visit

you, and we're here. I decided to let Sasami and you play for the next

couple hours, so please make the most of it. I still have one gigantic

Christmas gift to give back home, and I think they're going to flip over it.

You too, Sasami," Russ said with a wink.

"Another Christmas surprise? You're just full of them this year,

aren't you?" Sasami asked, grinning.

Nodding enthusiastically, he grinned widely. "Like I said, I really

outdid myself. I was saving the biggest surprise for last."

"I can't wait," Sasami said, smiling.

Her happy mood was contagious, and Mirei smiled too. "We're

here," she said, pushing open her doors to a very large room. A fireplace

was set against the wall to the right, complete with a fire burning in it. The

flames jumped and danced on the wood, creating a nice, cozy feeling about

the room. A large cabinet was set against the same wall, but closer to the

door, made of a beautiful, brown wood. In front of the fireplace, a table and

two chairs sat with a set of candles in the middle. A loveseat was situated

on the carpet in the middle of the room. As Russ walked through the door,

a large mirror was on the wall to his left, and an end table with a lamp was a

little more to the left. Up on the mantle, several photographs were on

display, and there were a couple of pictures on the walls themselves. The

room was very bright, colorful, and cheery.

Mirei walked over to the table and waved her arm, magically

causing a feast fit for a king to appear.

"Oh wow, that's handy," Russ chuckled, smiling at Mirei.

"Help yourselves," she invited, moving over to the couch and

sitting down.

"Would you like me to move the couch closer to the table? It feels

weird not having you here with us," Russ said, standing back up from the

table.

"It's okay," she said, waving her arm once again, causing a third

chair to appear.

"Excellent," Russ said, pulling back the chair. "Please be seated,

madam."

Sasami started laughing at Russ, poking fun at his French accent.

Mirei accepted his offer graciously, sitting down as Russ slid the chair

under her, and then took his own seat. He immediately started shoveling

the food into his mouth, hardly taking any time to chew it.

"This stuff is really good," he said, picking up a chicken thigh and

eating all the meat on it in less than a second.

Mirei watched him eat in stunned silence, her jaw hanging slightly

open. Sasami ate at her own pace, seemingly ignoring what Russ was

doing. Carefully spooning her fruit salad into her bowl, she ate each piece

delicately, just like a princess should behave.

"Sasami? Why are you eating so slowly? You don't have to be so

proper in front of me," Russ said, continuing to eat like a barbarian.

Looking at Russ, and then at Mirei, she started shoving food into

her mouth a little faster, being a little more careless as she ate.

"That's better," Russ teased, snickering. "Why don't you eat

something, Mirei?"

She looked at the table and smiled. "I don't eat. I don't have a

need to eat and I never feel hungry. That's all."

"Well, okay. Suit yourself, but this stuff is really good," Russ said,

eyeing her as he continued to shovel more and more food into his gut.

"Better get some while you can!"

Giggling, and then laughing, she picked up a bowl and filled it

with fruit salad, then began eating it casually.

"That's the ticket!" Russ encouraged.

"Yeah!" Sasami giggled. "Anyway, how long have you been on

this ship, Mirei?"

"I don't know. I think for quite a long time. I don't remember

why I'm here, but I am," she replied, taking a cherry and eating it.

"Maybe you could come back with us?" Sasami said, putting down

her chopsticks and looking seriously at Mirei.

Both her and Russ looked at Sasami in mild concern. It was Russ

who answered her.

"I don't think she can. From what I understand, ghosts cannot

leave the place from where they passed away. However, I would like to

know what happened on this ship. Maybe I can find something in the data

logs."

Mirei looked at him with a glimmer of hope. "Can you do that?"

"If I can get power to the computer system, I can," he said, smiling

at her. "My fighter has some power packs in it that I could probably use if I

can't get the ship's power system going."

"You know how to do that?" Sasami asked, looking at him with

surprise.

Russ smiled. "I like to think of myself as an engineer, or a person

who figures out how to make things work. I'm pretty good at fixing stuff,

so we'll see what I can do. I may not be able to do it, but I'll give it a try,"

he said, finishing off his food. "I'll tell you what. You two girls and Ryo-

Ohki can play, and I'll see about making the ship work again. How's that?"

Looking at him in hope, Mirei smiled at him. "Thank you, Russ.

I'd love to know more about this ship and the people who used to be

onboard."

"Again, it may not be possible. I'm not guaranteeing anything.

From what I can tell, this ship is very, very old. The computer may not

even work anymore. But I won't know that until I try to fix it."

"Just give it your best shot, Russ. If you need us, just call us. I

can hear you anywhere in the ship," Mirei offered.

"Great. Well, you two have fun. I have me a database to crack,"

he chuckled, standing up and walking toward the door. "I'll let you know if

I make it work or not."

"Okay!" both Sasami and Mirei said in unison. They looked at

each other, and then laughed.

Russ chuckled as he walked out of the room and closed the door

behind him. Slowly making his way down the hallway, he began to wonder

more and more about the little ghost girl whom he just shared a meal with.

"If I can solve this mystery, she may be able to pass over to the

other side, and then she can rest in peace," he said to himself. "Since it is

Christmas, I'll do my best to make it happen and give her a Merry

Christmas as well."

Picking up the pace, he quickly made his way to the bridge and

forced open the door, which was jammed shut. After a loud crash and a few

heavy bangs, the door slid open, revealing a large mess on the floor.

Computer consoles lined the entire outer wall of the bridge, some of them

broken. A large bulkhead had fallen on one of the consoles, completely

shattering it. The captain's chair was pretty much unscathed, save for a few

small stains.

Russ walked over to a command console, hoping it was the control

helm. Taking a deep breath, he blew off all the dust and debris that was

scattered on the computer, and sat down in the nearby chair, pulling the

console toward him.

"Now, let's see," he said to himself, as he hit a few keys in

sequence. But as he figured, nothing happened. "Dead. Let's try this," he

said aloud, pressing each key in sequence, hoping something would happen.

However, even after he pushed the last key, the console and entire ship

remained adrift and lifeless. Standing up, he moved to the next console,

blew all the junk off of it, and proceeded to hit each key, again, trying to

find a console that would maybe still work.

After trying that with half the consoles on the bridge, Russ began

to get irritated. "Splitform!" he yelled, as a double of him appeared. "Go

screw with those consoles over there, and I'll do these," the original

ordered. Both Russ's proceeded to press every single key on every console,

hoping that they could get some indication that the ship still had a power

source that could be enabled. But as they finished with each console, their

hopes went with it. Finally getting to the last one, and after pressing every

key on it, the two Russ's merged back into one.

"Dammit," he growled. "Figures. I wonder where the computer

core is," he muttered, looking around the bridge. "I wonder what happened

here. There is enough debris around here to look like the ship came under

attack, but there is really no exterior damage. It doesn't make sense. Plus

this ship doesn't seem to have any weapons."

Walking over to the captain's chair, he noticed a small keypad that

was attached to the armrest. Sitting down and studying the pad for a

moment, he pushed several of the buttons in random sequence. However,

once again, nothing happened.

"Dead. Okay, I guess I have to go find the computer core and

hook it up to my fighter. I hope they're compatible," he mumbled,

squeezing out of the doorway to the bridge, making his way down the

corridor, looking for a room that would contain the system unit.

Stepping over to a lift, he forced the door open and peered down

the shaft, which was pitch black. Holding his hand out in front of him, a

small ball of energy formed, illuminating the area in a soft, white light.

Taking a step forward, he floated down the tube in hope of finding the

engineering section. Several long bulkheads were lodged in the wall, as

they had fallen down there when the ship encountered whatever it was that

damaged it. Carefully avoiding them, he descended further, hearing many

creaks, bangs, and squeals that erupted seemingly out of nowhere.

"At least it is warm in here," he muttered, finally able to see the

bottom. Floating over to the shaft doors, he carefully forced them open and

stepped out into another corridor, which was again, dark as the blackest

pitch. Intensifying the energy in his hand, he lit up the surrounding area,

making visibility much better. Walking down the hallway, he found a large

set of double doors. Jamming his free hand in between the doors, he forced

one of them open and peered inside, using his energy to illuminate the area.

Dirt, grime, and dust were everywhere on the floor, the consoles, and

everything else that was in the room, but it didn't have anything that

resembled an engine or a computer core. Withdrawing his hand and

allowing the door to close itself again, he continued down the hall, checking

each room for the core.

"Isn't this unreal, Azaka?" Aeka asked, slowly walking through

her ship, feeling a sense of nostalgia. "I never thought I'd see this ever

again."

"Yes, your highness. Since the tree was rooted to the wreck of the

old ship, it wasn't supposed to ever function as an independent unit," the

log responded.

"I wonder if the ship still has its memory," Kamidake chimed in.

Slowly walking through the fields to her bedroom, admiring the

long blades of green grasses that carpeted the ground she walked on, she

made her way to her room, crossing over the bridge that had the water of

Jurai flowing under it. Walking up the steps to the inside, she gasped, as

her room was identical as it was the day she left it. Everything was perfect,

as she normally kept her room. The bed was made, her makeup desk was

set up for her daily routine, and even her hairbrush was sitting on the small

bench next to her mirror, where she had left it the very last time. Her photo

of Yosho as a young, Jurian prince even remained, in mint condition,

completely unscathed.

"It feels so weird to be here again," the princess said, quietly.

"Everything is just as I left it."

"Indeed," Kamidake said, gliding up next to his master.

Azaka slid up to her on her other side, conducting some minor

scans. "Yes, your highness. Everything is in its proper place."

Making her way over to her bed, she put her hand on the ultra soft,

brown comforter, remembering its feel on her skin. Her pink pillow was

nice and smooth, until Aeka placed her hand on it, ruffling it up slightly.

She slowly made her way around her bedroom, taking extra time at the

picture of Yosho to admire him once again, and then she placed it face

down on her desk.

"Why did you do that, your highness?" Azaka inquired.

"That was of a time long past," she responded, taking a deep sigh.

"I think I'll replace this picture with the one I've fallen in love with. I want

him to be mine, and nothing is going to stop me. Nothing," said Aeka,

turning toward her two guardians with the most determined look she could

muster. "Nobody has ever given me a gift this perfect in my entire life. He

remembered it for over six months, which I find incredible. I love him and

I want him to love me. I will make that happen if it is the last thing I ever

do!"

"But what are you going to do?" Kamidake said, sliding over to his

original guard post. "He seems like he has his mind made up. How are you

going to change it?"

Smiling, Aeka shook her head. "He's changed a bit. He's easier to

talk to and he has become more open with everybody. I know he likes me

because he smiles whenever I'm around him, unless I'm teasing him. When

I work out in the garden, I can catch sight of him watching me. He has to

be attracted to me. I mean, who wouldn't be?" she laughed, sounding like

she did almost three years ago.

If either guardian could've smiled, they would have.

However, a few moments later, her happy mood seemed to melt

away. "But every time I bring up the subject about us becoming a couple,

he avoids it like a plague. He always runs away and then afterwards,

doesn't speak to me for a while. Whenever he sees me coming, he'll vanish

into thin air or take off at such a high rate of speed that I wouldn't have any

hope of catching up to him, even though I've become stronger and faster

during my training with him. He has no idea how much that hurts my

feelings. I just can NOT figure out why he won't make something more

than friendship with me or anyone else!"

"If you need help tying him down, we can assist you, Princess,"

Azaka volunteered.

"Yes. We should be able to restrain him long enough for you to

talk to him," Kamidake agreed.

Aeka shook her head. "No. For one, he would definitely not like

that, and two, he's so strong that he could easily break out of your forcefield

without even trying. Even if I helped, we couldn't hold him captive. He's

just far too strong and powerful for that."

Turning around, she walked to the stairway that left her room and

began walking down it, with her new destination being the bridge.

"I'm sorry, Princess. If we knew what to do, we'd do it. Changing

a person's mind is something that we cannot do, unfortunately. We only

have limited advice to give. Perhaps you should talk to Empress Misaki

and see what advice she has to lend," Kamidake suggested, floating in the

air and slowly following Aeka.

The princess visibly shuddered. "No, that's quite alright.

Knowing my mother, she'd probably come here and try to force it out of

him, and that is something that I definitely don't need. Not only that, it's

embarrassing to be around her at times. I could've died when she made me

call her mommy while we were at the Startica Festival," she said,

recalling the event in detail, turning red all over again.

"But a parent usually has the best advice to give, too. You don't

have to have her come here. You can call her when we get to the bridge, if

that is your intended destination," Azaka said, keeping pace.

"I suppose I could. It is Christmas Day. She always said that I

don't keep in touch frequently enough," Aeka said, looking worried. "I just

hope she doesn't take an initiative and come here."

Walking the rest of the way in silence, she finally reached the

bridge of her ship. It too, looked completely untouched, like nobody had

even set foot in it before. Upon her approach to the Royal Tree, many

beams of colored light came from the leaves and surrounded her in color,

recognizing the princess immediately.

"The ship maintains all of its memories too. Even the ones it

obtained from sitting here in the lake after the crash. Incredible," Aeka

said, looking around in wonder.

Azaka and Kamidake returned to their posts, connecting to the

ship's computer in the process. Again, several beams of colored light

danced around the area, then faded away.

"Computer core, intact. Memory core, intact," Azaka recited,

scanning the ship systems.

"Drives, online. All other systems, functional," Kamidake

finished.

Aeka stood in the center of the bridge area, looking around her in

awe. Her spaceship tree was in full bloom and looked as healthy as ever.

The water flowed through the channels that were grooved in the ship, giving

life to the plethora of plants that littered the surrounding area, gurgling as it

fell over the edge and dropped to another reservoir below.

Taking in a deep breath, she felt so at home onboard her ship. She

had spent a great many months onboard, either in stasis or on short trips to

local star systems. But it was her home away from home. She was given

the ship at birth, and when she was old enough to learn and understand

about her ship tree, she was allowed to name it. Ryu-Oh, a fictional name

that she had made up a long time before she even knew about the tree, was

the name she gave it. It gave it a sense of power and peace, and even her

family found it suitable.

When she was last on Jurai during the Startica Festival, her father

yelled at her about the destruction of her ship, reopening old wounds. She

couldn't wait to rub it in his face that her ship was back again, and the

barbarian that he couldn't stand did it. Smiling an evil, sadistic grin, she

pictured the look on the King's face when she'd arrive at Jurai in her

original spaceship, or even just calling him from it.

"Azaka? Open a communications channel to Jurai. I want to

speak to my mother and father," Aeka ordered, standing tall. However, she

realized a few moments too late that she wasn't wearing her robes or regal

clothing.

"We're receiving a response, your highness. Putting it on main

viewer," Kamidake relayed, initiating the main viewscreen.

"AEKA!" Misaki yelled, almost looking like she was going to fall

through the viewscreen, overwhelmed with joy. "I'm so happy you called!"

"Hi mom. How are you doing?" Aeka responded, smiling at the

screen.

"We're doing great!" she said, being really enthusiastic. However,

she looked off to the side and became serious. "Actually, it's been boring

as hell around here. There hasn't been much of anything going on that has

required our attention," she said quietly, trying to be confidential. "But

your call has changed all of that!" A moment later, she looked at Aeka and

her surrounding area. "Aeka? Where are you?"

Aeka smiled warmly. "I'm on Ryu-Oh, mother," she responded

casually, as if it were a silly question.

Watching her surprised reaction, Aeka became more pleased with

herself. "But wasn't it destroyed? Your father was very upset over that."

She nodded her head. "Yes. It WAS destroyed."

"I don't understand. What happened?"

"Today is Christmas, here on Earth. A special someone performed

what he calls, 'A miracle' and has somehow managed to restore my ship,"

she explained, gesturing to her surrounding area.

Misaki's eyes widened a little more. "You're serious? Are you

really on Ryu-oh?"

Giggling to herself, she nodded her head. "Yes. My ship is back."

"But how? Who did it?" Misaki asked, looking a little confused.

But a moment later, her eyes became a little wider as realization entered her

mind. "You don't mean, Russ, do you?"

Again, Aeka nodded her head. "I don't know what he did, but he

somehow managed to restore my ship to perfect condition. It's almost like

it was built from scratch, as there are no defects at all in the workmanship.

It's almost like it had just come out of the craft shop."

The Joker in Batman couldn't match Misaki's smile. "I see.

That's quite a gift he gave you, in that case. How goes the dating game

with him, anyway?"

Sighing quietly, Aeka's face became a little more downcast. "It

never got off the ground. We're still at square one."

"You're kidding!" she said, becoming concerned. "Why?"

"He's still the same way as he was when you met him. He refuses

to even consider a relationship with anybody. Every time I've brought it

up, he avoids the subject. I don't know why."

Misaki became silent for a few moments and looked at Aeka with

her own amethyst eyes. "Maybe you're going about this all wrong. From

what I could tell, you were always pursuing him, always trying to get him,

and all around, you were putting out all of the effort into getting him.

Maybe that isn't the way to make it happen."

"What do you mean?"

"If I'm correct, he comes from a race of people who are not all that

dissimilar from those on Earth. What I mean is, that it's the guy who is

supposed to initiate a relationship, not the girl. It's the guy who is supposed

to pursue the girl, and it's the guy who is supposed to ask the girl out on a

date, not the other way around. It could be that you're being a little too

aggressive with him and he doesn't like that, or feels threatened by it, which

is why he avoids it."

Pondering over this for a few moments, she looked back at Misaki.

"But, it worked with Tenchi and Ryoko. She was far more aggressive than

I ever was, and she won out! How come I can't do the same thing and get

the man I want?"

"Is he Tenchi?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"What I mean is, is he the same person?"

Looking at her mother in confusion, she continued to think quietly

to herself. "I still don't understand what you're talking about, mom."

"Russ is an entirely different person than Tenchi is. What worked

on Tenchi may not work on him. You said you've been trying the same

things Ryoko did and that it isn't working. The thing is, he's getting ALL

of your attention, rather than having it be divided between two girls, like the

way it was between you and Ryoko. He definitely does not have the same

outlook on women as Tenchi does."

"I see, but still. He knows I want him, he knows I care for him,

and he probably knows that I love him, but even then, he still won't accept

it. What can I do to make him change his mind?"

Misaki smiled. "Back off of him for a while. Play hard to get.

That may make him chase you instead of the other way around. If it

doesn't, it'll make him feel a little more comfortable and less threatened.

Just stop pursuing him. The last six months obviously didn't work. It's

time to try something else."

"I suppose you're right," Aeka said, considering the many

encounters she had with Russ, remembering his gentle touch when she was

feeling down, or how he'd talk with her when she was alone. The thing that

stuck in her mind was how he'd always run away when she'd mention a

date or going steady, but he'd always come around when she wasn't pursing

him or trying to get him to do something that meant getting involved.

Maybe it was time to try something fresh and new. "I think I can try that,"

she said, looking a little happier, her face filling with a new hope.

"Yes. If that doesn't work, I'll come over there and tie him to a

chair and lecture him on what my daughter wants," she laughed, drawing a

small giggle from the Princess.

"Thank you, mom. I feel better now," Aeka said, smiling.

"By the way, I love your clothes!" Misaki said, her face filling the

viewscreen again. "What are they, anyway?"

Catching her off guard, Aeka started laughing. "It's just a sweater

and a pair of jeans. They're plain old Earth clothes. How do you like

them?"

"You look so adorable in them! Can you galaxy-express me a

couple pairs for myself?" Misaki asked, clasping her hands together. "I

know it'll make your father furious, but I like to have clothing from other

cultures too!"

"I'll see what I can do," she said, folding her hands in front of her.

"So Aeka, I've got all day to do nothing. What's new with you?"

Misaki asked, sitting back on her throne.

Aeka sat down on the floor of her ship, yoga style. "Where should

I begin? OH! Guess what? I saw Russ as a super saiyan for the first time a

couple months ago!"

"Really? What'd he look like?"

"Well, not all that different from the way he looked before, but his

hair and eyebrows turned a golden yellow color, and his eyes became a

beautiful sea-green. He grew a little taller and his hair stood on end, plus he

became a heck of a lot more buff. It was crazy, but really neat to see."

Misaki closed her eyes, trying to imagine what he looked like.

"Did you get a picture of him?"

"Washu might have one. I'll ask her about it later and send one

along with the clothes," Aeka said, smiling.

"Great. I can't wait to see it," the empress said.

"Well, what's new with you, mom? I don't have anything to do

for now. Russ took Sasami somewhere and he won't be back for another

hour or two, so I've got the time to waste."

"Hmmm, let's see I know," she began, and Aeka knew that

when she started a conversation like that, that it was going to take quite a

long time to finish it. She sat back on her arms and relaxed, listening to her

mother's stories and telling some of her own.

"I still can't believe it's you," Washu kept saying, over and over,

still completely blown away that her son, lost for over twenty thousand

years, was standing next to her once again.

Akaki chuckled quietly to himself. "I know. It feels weird for me

too. After that I learned that Nikki was not my biological mother, I did a lot

of research and investigating to try to find out who was. I, like you, came

up with nothing but dead ends and more questions. I don't know how Russ

did it, but I owe him a debt of gratitude that I don't think I could ever

repay."

"You and me both," Washu said, shaking her finger back and forth.

"I never expected anything like this to come out of him," she said, sitting

back in her chair. Akaki was sitting on a nearby cushion, and they had

already been talking for nearly an hour, finding stories and drawing on

experiences from both of their pasts, describing their lives in detail for each

other. It was the best thing they could do to play catch-up. "Russ has been

living with us for somewhere around six months. During that time, I really

haven't seen a whole lot of him, but when I do, he usually makes my skin

crawl. Thing is, he feels the same way about me too. He absolutely hates

the way I treat others, but I don't see anything wrong with it. He always

gets pissed at me whenever I tell someone that they owe me big time for

doing them a huge favor. He believes that someone should not expect a

form of payment for favors. However, he did tell me that if someone does

do you a favor that they usually will return a favor when you're ready for

one. He just doesn't like having me say that I expect it," Washu said,

pulling herself up in her cushion a little more. "He had asked me for

several large favors in the past, including the gravity machine he uses, the

regeneration tank he wanted me to build, and lately, the entirely separate

dimension that he wants to have his fight in. I had told him that he owes me

big for all of that and he did get quite angry with me, but he said that he did

have something planned that would make everything that I had done for

him seem insignificant, but that I'd have to wait and see what it could be. I

never, in a million years, would've guessed that he could've pulled this off.

I'd love to know what he did that both you and I failed to do."

Akaki relaxed, folding his legs Indian style while maintaining

balance on the floating pillow. "He did mention that he sensed an energy

from me. He said that it wasn't all that dissimilar from the energy he

sensed from you. He has more abilities than anybody I've ever seen. I've

never seen someone who could be so powerful and maintain it with a high

sense of ethics. Most people that I've seen usually turn out to be real jerks

or wind up having an arrogant attitude that a sledgehammer couldn't pound

back into proportion. But he's friendly, helpful, and a total contrast to what

I've typically seen. Another strange thing about him is that he doesn't have

a girlfriend," he said, scratching his head. "When he visited me the first

time, we talked for a good two or three hours, and he described a bit about

himself and why he was living here with you guys. I sincerely hope that he

can do something about the disaster that is apparently heading this way."

"If anyone can do it, he can. You've seen how powerful the

Jurians are, haven't you?" Washu asked, keying a few commands on her

laptop, bringing up the battle footage from the Kain incident.

Akaki nodded his head, and then turned his attention to the

computer. "Yeah. They're really powerful, fast, and strong. They're the

most powerful race in existence. They have no equal in the universe."

Washu looked at him and shook her head. "Not anymore. Watch

this battle footage I recorded," she said, playing back the video, starting

when Tenchi released a huge, orange beam into Kain's face. "What you see

here is Tenchi, who is of Jurai. As you can see, the computer calculated an

energy level for that blast. I now use a new scale of measuring power,

unlike the scouters you have probably seen. But anyway," she said,

freezing the frame, "that blast came in at ten thousand. That is an extremely

powerful blast, capable of destroying a small planet."

"Yeah! Look at the sheer power from that blast. I've never seen a

Jurian exhibit that amount of energy before. That's really impressive,"

Akaki mentioned, sliding a little closer to his mother.

Washu shook her head, and fast-forwarded to when Russ walked

out into the field to confront Kain. "Now watch what Russ does. You can

see his current energy level, which is holding steady at only five hundred,"

she said, just as Russ clenched his fists, causing all kinds of strange

phenomena to occur around him. The number on the computer screen

immediately started going crazy, jumping to the hundred thousand spot and

continued to rise at an insane rate.

"What the heck? A million? TEN million?" he exclaimed, staring

at the computer screen in shock, but the numbers still continued to climb. A

moment later, the numbers became scrambled as it reached its limit of only

twenty million, and Russ's hair stood on end while lightning streaked

through the sky. Kain and everybody else stared at him in horror as he went

up in a brilliant gold flash of energy, causing Akaki to sit back in his chair

from the surprise.

Washu allowed the replay to run a few more moments and then she

paused it, getting a freeze frame of Russ as he stood, fully transformed into

a super saiyan. "THAT is the most powerful race in existence," Washu

declared, pointing at him.

Transfixed on the computer screen, Akaki adjusted his glasses,

thinking he could be seeing things. "What happened to him? Why is his

hair yellow?"

"That is his transformation into something called a super saiyan.

It's a radical transformation that he can do that gives him an incredible

boost to his speed, strength, and energy. He's hundreds of thousands of

times more powerful than the strongest Jurian warriors."

"Amazing."

"But you see, he's not the only one who is that strong. That

opponent that he told you he was going to face is just as powerful as he is,

and just as experienced. Now you can see why I've done Russ as many

favors as I have. For someone who fights as righteously as he does, who

couldn't help but say yes?"

Allowing the footage to run to the end, Akaki watched Russ

summon up such an astronomical amount of energy. As a result, the

monitoring device started having trouble maintaining a steady picture. A

second later, Russ brought his hands out in front of him and released the

biggest ki blast that Akaki had ever seen. The entire screen went blank for

several seconds, and then came back online, but the event was over. Russ

turned around and faced the group, and he could finally see Russ's green

eyes, causing his own to widen in surprise. Russ walked over to the group

and smiled, then said, "I win."

"Well anyway," Washu said, letting her computer fade back into

subspace and standing up. "Please, let me introduce you to the family. I'm

sure they're all waiting to meet you."

"I'd like that. Russ told me about Tenchi, Ryoko, Kiyone,

Mihoshi, Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, Aeka, Sasami, and even Ryo-Ohki. I was

very surprised to learn that the two princesses of Jurai and the most

notorious space pirate ever known were all living under the same roof on

such a distant planet."

"Don't say anything like that to them when you meet them.

They've all changed considerably."

"I won't. Don't worry, mom."

"And I expect you to be on your best behavior."

Akaki rolled his eyes and smiled, extending his arm, which Washu

latched onto. Walking to her door, it appeared, and they both walked

through it, entering the living room of the Masaki home, where Ryoko and

Tenchi were both sitting together on the couch, talking quietly to each

other. They both turned when they heard the door open behind them.

"Tenchi! Ryoko!" Washu said, approaching them with Akaki,

who smiled down on both of them.

"Hi Washu," they answered in unison.

"Who is that?" Ryoko asked, looking at the young man

suspiciously.

Washu smiled and cackled to herself. "I'd like you both to meet

my son, Akaki," she said, using his given name rather than his birth name.

Both Ryoko and Tenchi fell off of the couch, completely stunned

as to what she just said. "WHAT?!" they shouted together.

"Hello. I'm Akaki. It's nice to meet the two of you," he said,

extending his hand to Tenchi, and then to Ryoko. Both of them shook his

hand, staring at him the whole time.

"You're the long lost son of Washu? I'm very honored to meet

you," Tenchi said, bowing humbly. "I had only heard little things about

you, but I'm very, very glad to see you reunited with your mother. It makes

me feel very good and I'm sure it does to Washu as well."

"You have no idea how much joy I'm feeling, Tenchi. Words

cannot describe the feeling that I have in my heart," she said, clinging onto

Akaki's arm a little tighter.

Ryoko mumbled something under her breath, staring at the little

scientist.

'What is it, Ryoko?' Washu asked her telepathically.

'I don't trust the guy. Here he shows up out of the blue and claims

to be your son who you haven't seen in twenty thousand years? How the

hell do you know he's telling the truth?' she growled, casting a fake smile at

Akaki.

'I can understand that, but I was very careful in my scans of him.

If he were hiding something, I would've found it. I compared them to scans

that I had archived of him since his birth and they're almost identical. The

aging process made the only variations that were caused. Other than that,

he's my son. I guarantee it,' she said, using her best vote of confidence.

'Please be nice to him. It means so much to me to have him standing next

to me again. I don't ever want to let go and I don't want him feeling

uncomfortable. If you do, I'll tie you up like I did that one time I had that

tea party with Mihoshi after Doctor Clay's capture.'

Ryoko's forehead instantly became covered in little droplets of

perspiration. "Akaki? My name is Ryoko. I'm happy to finally meet you."

Akaki smiled. "Very nice to meet you, Ryoko. You're more

beautiful in person than you were on the wanted posters," he said.

Ryoko started laughing, taking it in good humor. "I'm not a

wanted criminal anymore. I've settled down here on Earth with my love,

Tenchi," she said, pulling him a little closer, rubbing her head affectionately

on Tenchi's shoulder.

Rolling his eyes, Tenchi shook his head and laughed. "Please, sit

down. I'd love to visit with you if you have time. We've got nothing better

to do. We already ate, but we have some leftovers if you'd like them. It

isn't Sasami's cooking, but my dad can do a pretty good job on his own.

Both of our master chefs are still out of the house for now. They should be

back soon."

"Thank you," Akaki said, moving over to the loveseat, plopping

into the soft cushions. Washu took the seat next to him, still clinging to his

arm. "Mom, you're going to make my arm fall asleep," he teased. Washu

didn't even notice he said anything.

Tenchi chuckled. "Hey dad!" Tenchi called.

"What is it, son?" Nobuyuki called from the upstairs.

"Come down here and meet Washu's son!"

"What? You're kidding!" he responded, as two pairs of feet

started thumping through the house. A moment later, Nobuyuki came down

the stairs, followed by Katsuhito. They both stopped and looked at the

blonde haired boy who sat on the loveseat with Washu. The duo looked on

Katsuhito and Nobuyuki with the same shade of green eyes, and they both

smiled.

Akaki stood up and extended his hand, as Nobuyuki came over to

the couch. "Pleasure to meet you, sir," he said, shaking his hand heartily,

and then taking Katsuhito's hand in his own, repeating the action.

"So, you're Washu's long-lost son? Amazing! How did you find

her?" Nobuyuki asked, sitting down in the lazyboy chair.

"Actually, it was Russ who reunited us. We owe him many

thanks."

"RUSS did it? Good grief, is there anything he can't do?"

Nobuyuki exclaimed, sitting on the edge of the chair.

"Beats me, but he's full of surprises," Katsuhito said, sitting on the

couch next to Ryoko. She eyed him suspiciously, waiting for him to do

something perverted.

"I'll be right back," Nobuyuki said, standing up and hurrying off to

the kitchen. He returned a few moments later with the teakettle and six

cups. He filled each cup with the green tea, and handed each cup off to

Tenchi, Ryoko, Katsuhito, Washu, Akaki, and finally one for himself. "So,

tell us a bit about yourself. I'd love to know what the son of Washu has

done with his life."

Akaki grinned, taking a deep breath. "Well, where should I begin?

Well, I guess I could start at the beginning, eh? It should help pass some

time away."

Everybody sat back and listened as Akaki gave a very abbreviated

version of his life story.

Russ sneezed, a result of all the dust that he blew off of the

computer core. After wrestling with the unit for nearly fifteen minutes, he

had gotten himself completely covered in dirt, grime, and dust. He looked

more like an auto mechanic or a grease monkey than a warrior. Carefully

undoing the mounts that held the computer in place, he finally removed it.

In the engineering section, Russ had tried to find the power supply

for the ship, but even after he found it, he couldn't make it work. There was

just no juice left in the unit to make it function. It was tricky, but he

managed to remove the computer core without breaking anything. On the

way back to the hanger, he had stopped and gotten Mirei and Sasami, and

all three of them went back to his fighter.

Spending another five minutes connecting it to his fighter, he

finally got the unit to hum to life.

Russ smiled. "Now, let's see what we've got here," he said, typing

several commands on a nearby keypad, pulling the most recent logs from

the recorder. For the first few moments, nothing but static greeted his ears

from the audio and video system, but eventually, an unstable picture and

bad audio greeted his senses. Adjusting several algorithms, he got the

fighter to recognize the data, and it played back in near perfect condition.

"Wow," Sasami said, looking at the viewscreen, which had an

image of the bridge and the people operating the ship. "You made it work!"

Mirei looked at the image and smiled. "That's my ship," she said

quietly, watching it in wonder. It was the first time she had seen the bridge

with all the people onboard, hurrying about and operating the vessel

skillfully.

"Shhh," Russ said, putting his finger up to his mouth, watching the

bridge crew operate the ship.

"Captain! Picking up an unidentified ship on sensors," the

helmsman said, turning around to face the cleanly dressed officer.

"Put it onscreen," he said, watching the image flash up on his

monitor. A new vessel, unlike anything Russ had ever seen, was on an

intercept course to the civilian cruiser. It was absolutely monstrous. Larger

in diameter than Tom's Star Destroyer, it had about as much mass as about

two of those ships. It continued to approach, filling the entire viewscreen as

everybody watched in horror.

Sasami gasped in horror. "I KNOW that ship," she whispered,

looking at it fearfully. "That's Kagato's ship! The one that imprisoned

Ryoko and Washu!"

Russ turned to look at her in shock. "Oh my god, you've got to be

kidding."

"No. I'd recognize that ship from anywhere," Sasami said,

watching the viewscreen.

"Hail the vessel!" the captain barked, sitting down in his chair.

"Raise shields!"

Before his orders could be carried out, the space pirate Ryoko

materialized right on the bridge, her eyes glowing an evil shade of green.

She was dressed in a black and red one-piece battle suit, and she didn't look

like she had any emotion. She had her three gems, but they were glowing

green instead of red. One was on each wrist, and one was on her neck.

Upon her appearance on the bridge, the people turned around in a

panic, and some of them picked up the hand weapons that they kept

onboard for emergencies. They took aim and fired, but each shot they made

bounced harmlessly off of her forcefield. She turned, pointed her palm at

several of the men, and let loose a large, orange blast, vaporizing the

helpless crew. The resulting explosion knocked a bulkhead out of place,

which crashed into a computer console, annihilating it. Red warning lights

began to flash all over the ship, as they were under attack.

"What is the meaning of this?!" the captain shouted, standing up

from his chair.

Ryoko turned toward him, letting her orange sword blaze into

existence, and with a casual swing from her wrist, she cut the man down.

He fell back into his chair, dead.

Sasami turned away from the screen, horrorstruck at what had

transpired. Mirei and Russ both stared at the atrocity in horror, and Mirei

had almost gone into shock over what she had just seen. The terror in those

people's faces couldn't have been matched by anyone Russ had ever fought

against. Once the bridge was cleared, Russ could still hear the screams of

people as they were cut down and pillaged of their valuables.

A moment later on the bridge, Kagato, the Galaxy Police's most

wanted, appeared, surveyed the damage, and walked away, like he didn't

even care at the atrocities that he and Ryoko had just committed.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," Russ whispered, unable to turn

away. Sasami was crying, covering her ears so she didn't have to see or

hear the awful noises that were being played back. Mirei was near her,

gently talking to her. Russ continued to watch the video, but he turned the

sound way down. After nearly fifteen minutes, the violence stopped.

Ryoko and Kagato returned to the bridge with a little girl, as they both

looked at her with cold, heartless eyes.

"We're leaving you here, alone," Kagato said. "Be grateful that

you're still alive, but I doubt you'll stay that way for long," he said, blasting

another control panel, causing the entire ship to shut down. "In several

hours, it'll get so cold in here that you'll freeze to death instead," he

laughed, as he vanished. Ryoko looked at the little girl, a tear falling out of

the corner of her eye, as she too, vanished. The video stopped a few

moments later, as the computer core lost power.

Russ clenched his fists and stared hard at the screen, restraining

himself from smashing the computer core into a billion pieces. He knew

about all the stories Ryoko and Washu told him about her past, but he didn't

realize how severe it was. Now, he had seen it, and it made him absolutely

furious. He knew Ryoko didn't have any control over what she was doing,

but he still couldn't believe what she had done. He seethed with hatred at

the old man, who had done what he did to the little girl. Russ looked over

at Mirei, who looked at Russ with sad eyes. She hung her head, and then

started crying.

Slowly moving over to her, Russ sat down on the floor with them,

wrapped his arms around both of the crying children, bringing them closer

and holding them tightly. He held them there for nearly five minutes, doing

his best to keep from crying with them. He had never seen such a sick,

twisted evil as that in his entire life. Not even Frieza could match his

cruelty.

"Kagato. If he were still alive right now, he wouldn't be for much

longer," Russ snarled, holding both girls close. "Acts like that are

unforgivable. I can't believe anybody could do that to another person and

be happy about it. It's sick," Russ said, squeezing the girls tightly, trying

his best to comfort the both of them.

Sasami stopped crying, but remained close to Russ. "So that's

what happened to Mirei?" she finally asked.

Russ looked at the little ghost and nodded his head. "Yes. An

innocent victim who didn't deserve the fate she was given," he said. "I'm

so sorry, Mirei. I wish I was around to stop him."

The young ghost looked up at him with serenity in her face. "At

least now I know what happened to me," she said, relaxing her body. All

three of them remained sitting on the floor, but remained fairly quiet.

"So you know, Kagato is dead. Tenchi had finished him off

somewhere around two or three years ago. That bad man can cause no

harm to anybody else, ever again. He has lost his control over Ryoko, and

she has since then been reformed. Believe it or not, she is to become

Tenchi's wife," he said, smiling, hoping to lighten the mood a little, then

sighed. "I'm still very upset over what happened to you though, Mirei. If

there was something I could do, I would do it."

"I know," she said, the tears still slowly falling down her cheeks.

"How long have I been here?"

Russ thought a moment. "At least seven hundred years. Yosho

imprisoned Ryoko about that long ago, but Tenchi only recently released

her. Since she was with Kagato in the video, it had to have been longer

than that."

Mirei looked up at him, and Russ's heart ached. "I've been here

alone for seven hundred years? How much longer am I going to have to

remain here?"

"Mirei?" Sasami began, looking at her. "Can you come home with

us? You don't have to be here alone anymore. We will take you back to

our place and you can live with us!"

Shaking his head, Russ put his hand gently on Sasami's shoulder.

"Unfortunately, that cannot happen. However, I think since the mystery has

been solved, that she is now free to pass over to the other side," he said,

looking at Mirei.

She looked up at Russ with a glimmer of hope. "I can go?"

"Shhh, just wait a moment," Russ said. "I can feel something

happening."

Mirei, Sasami, and Russ all sat quietly on the landing deck of the

cruiser, listening, waiting. After a few minutes, a soft, warm glow

illuminated the hanger, basking it in brilliant, white light. It lit every single

nook and cranny throughout the entire bay, not even leaving a shadow in

existence. The glow intensified in one spot, and after a moment, two people

walked out of the light and into the bay.

Sasami gasped, looking at the adult couple in wonder, and Russ

shared her same, surprised expression. Mirei looked at the two adults, her

tears streaming anew.

"Mama!" she shouted, leaping up from her sitting position.

"Papa!"

The two adults smiled and knelt down, welcoming their daughter

into their arms. Mirei continued to cry, overjoyed to be reunited with her

parents. She no longer had to be alone, ever again.

Russ and Sasami stood up from their positions on the floor, and

Russ put his arm around the little princess's shoulder, holding her close.

Sasami reached up and held onto Russ's hand, watching the joyous reunion

take place, like an old, silent film.

"She's reunited with her parents now. Since the mystery has been

resolved and the perpetrator who orchestrated the whole thing is now dead,

she has no reason to remain on this ship anymore," Russ explained quietly.

"I will take the data core over to Kiyone and Mihoshi, and they will be able

to file a report with the Galaxy Police on the fate of the crew and passengers

of this ship."

After a minute of watching the parents and daughter rejoice, Mirei

turned around and looked at the two people who made it all possible. She

turned and walked back over to Sasami, happiness all over her face.

"I can go home now, Sasami," she said, hugging her. "I won't be

alone anymore."

"I'm very happy for you, Mirei," Sasami whispered, holding the

little ghost closely. "All the memories that we shared will stay with me for

a lifetime."

Mirei smiled. "I can help with that, a little," she said, running

toward a wall, which she passed through.

Russ and Sasami turned to look at each other in curiosity,

wondering what she meant. But they didn't have much time to ponder over

it, as Mirei re-appeared a few seconds later, holding something.

"This is a picture of me that I had kept in my room," she said,

giving it to Sasami. "I had added you in when you had left the last time you

were here. I wanted to remember you, and I hope you'll remember me the

same way. But I have something else I must add to it," she said, waving her

hand. In between Sasami and Mirei in the photograph, Russ was added,

smiling, with a hand on each girl, kneeling down to their height.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, clutching the picture close. "I'll treasure

this forever, Mirei. Thank you!"

Russ knelt down and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Mirei," he said,

as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Go now.

Your mother and father are waiting for you," he said, watching the couple

stand by each other, smiling, almost looking like a photograph themselves.

"I'll never forget you guys," Mirei called, running into the light,

following her parents. "Good bye! I'll miss you!"

"Bye, Mirei!" both Russ and Sasami yelled, after she disappeared.

The white glow slowly faded away, until it left the bay altogether.

Looking into the blackness, the soft glow that Mirei had given the

hanger bay faded, revealing all the dirt, dust, and damage that had been

there before she made her appearance. Russ, Sasami, and Ryo-Ohki all

walked back to the Tie Defender in silence, climbed aboard, and sealed the

hatch. Powering up the fighter, Russ carefully turned it around, and slowly

flew out of the bay, putting some distance between him and the cruiser. He

turned the fighter around one final time, took a good, long look at the ship,

and then pointed his fighter toward home.

Russ could hear Sasami sniffle quietly to herself. "Are you okay

back there?"

Again, she sniffled. "I don't know why, but I feel sad that I'll

never see her again," she said, wiping the falling tears from her eyes.

Pushing the hyperdrive lever all the way forward, the stars became

streaks as the fighter entered hyperspace, flying down the tunnel of color.

"You should be happy, Sasami. She no longer has to be alone. She's with

her parents now. It is true that you won't see her, but it isn't true that you

won't see her ever again. You have a very long life ahead of you, Sasami.

One day, you will see her again," he said, turning around to look the

princess.

"Will I?" she asked, a glimmer of hope in her pink eyes.

Russ smiled, nodding his head yes. "One day, you will. But not

for a long time."

Sasami looked out of the window at the colors of hyperspace, a

small smile on her lips as the two of them hurtled through hyperspace,

heading toward home.

Aeka, Nobuyuki, Katsuhito, Ryoko, Tenchi, Kiyone, Mihoshi,

Washu, and Akaki all sat in the living room drinking tea, and sharing stories

from each of their pasts, some of them completely ridiculous and some of

them very serious. Aeka and Ryoko talked about their rivalry and how it

had come to an end, and that they were almost the best of friends now.

They had all lived under the same roof for the past three years, and they had

enjoyed every minute of it.

"I wish Russ was here so you could meet Sasami," Aeka said,

playing with one of the strings to the hood on her sweater. "He's been gone

for almost three hours."

"Yeah," Ryoko interjected. "Where is that barbarian anyway?"

"He is NOT a barbarian!" Aeka shrilled, turning toward the space

pirate angrily.

Ryoko laughed. "You're the one who gave him that nickname, not

me, your highness," she retorted. "Besides, I think I can hear his fighter

now."

Listening for several seconds, the noise of the Tie Defender's ion

engines became more and more audible, as the fighter flew over the house

and carefully landed near the lake on its three landing struts. The hatch

opened up, allowing Sasami, Ryo-Ohki and Russ to exit the fighter. Both

the princess and the cabbit ran toward the house, trying to get out of the

cold. Sealing the hatch, Russ made his way back to the house and came

inside.

"Welcome back, you two! Where did you go?" Nobuyuki asked,

greeting Sasami and Russ as they entered the house. They all looked at

Russ funny as he was covered from head to toe in dirt and grime. "What

happened to you?" he asked, eyeballing Russ.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Now that," Russ began, holding up his index finger, "is a secret."

Sasami started laughing at Russ's impression of Xellos, and

quickly ran up the stairs to her room, where she put the picture up on her

nightstand. She returned a few moments later.

"Well, that was rather interesting. Anyway, Kiyone?" Russ said,

holding the computer unit in his hands. "I have something here that you

should file a report on. But don't worry about doing it today."

"What is it, Russ?"

"This is a computer data log from a derelict ship," he said, holding

up the core. "This should help solve a couple thousand missing person

reports."

Kiyone stood up from the table, moved over to Russ, and accepted

the computer core. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem. But anyway, are you guys ready for the last and

final gift I have to give everybody?" he asked, standing tall, wearing a big

grin.

"I've been waiting for this," Tenchi said, holding Ryoko. "What is

it?"

Russ became very serious. "Listen closely to this, as this is very

important. I will be bringing a visitor here to see you people," Russ said,

drawing various looks from everybody who was seated. Russ swallowed a

growing lump in his throat, becoming nervous at being the center of

attention from almost a dozen people. "This person can only remain here

for one, twenty-four hour day. After which, I will have to take the person

back. The gods are probably going to be pissed at me for doing this, but I

worked it out months before, so there should be no problem."

"Well, who is it?" Nobuyuki asked, genuinely curious.

Russ took in a deep breath. "I'll go and get her," Russ said,

smiling. "Please don't have a heart attack when you see her."

Everybody had mixed reactions to what he had said, but remained

quiet.

"Back in a moment. Don't go anywhere," he said, putting two

fingers to his forehead and disappearing.

"What do you suppose it could be?" Aeka asked, looking at Ryoko

and Tenchi.

"I have absolutely no idea," he responded. "What about you,

grandpa?"

Katsuhito shook his head back and forth. "I have no idea, Tenchi."

The group didn't have much more time to debate, as they heard

Russ re-appear in the kitchen. The door slid open and Russ stepped out, a

huge grin on his face.

"Are you sure you're all ready for this?"

"Yeah," Tenchi said.

"Remember, she can only remain here for ONE DAY. Since it is

now noon, she will have to leave at noon tomorrow," he reminded them,

and then turned back toward the kitchen. "Come on out now," he said

quietly, accepting a hand that appeared out of sight.

Gently pulling her into view, her hand was visible first, followed

by a black dress. She had brown eyes and black hair, which was wound up

into a waist-length ponytail by a red band. The girl only appeared to be

around seventeen or eighteen, and she was very beautiful. She had on white

socks that covered her legs a little over her ankles, and her shoes were black

as well. It was a complete school uniform that hadn't been worn in Japan

for a good twenty-five years. One interesting attribute about the girl was

her golden halo, which hovered about six inches above her head. She

stepped out of the kitchen and looked at the group, smiling at everybody.

Katsuhito, Nobuyuki, and Tenchi all turned ghostly white in shock

and surprise, as recognition immediately smashed through all of their heads

like a tidal wave. Ryoko, Aeka, Sasami, Washu, Kiyone and Mihoshi all

gasped in complete and utter surprise, watching her move from the kitchen

to stand by Russ's side.

"My wife in Heaven," Nobuyuki whispered hoarsely, unable to

find his voice. His hands visibly trembled while he looked the girl up and

down, tears squeezing themselves out of the corners of his eyes.

Katsuhito had a similar reaction, his face frozen into shock. He too

was trembling, as he stood up from the couch, slowly making his way over

to the girl. Tenchi and Nobuyuki joined him, all of them transfixed on her,

unable to come up with words to describe the feelings they had.

She giggled, genuinely pleased with their reactions. Smiling at

each of them in turn, she stepped away from Russ and stopped in front of

Nobuyuki, looking at him in the same way that she used to, long before they

were married.

Grinning widely, Russ was utterly pleased with himself, watching

everybody's reaction to her re-appearance. "Say hello to Achika, Tenchi's

mother and Nobuyuki's wife, and daughter of Lord Katsuhito," Russ said

quietly, his introduction going almost completely ignored. Russ backed off

a little further, approaching the door to the outside. "Merry Christmas,

everybody," he said quietly, as he slipped outside, unnoticed by everybody,

except for Aeka, who caught him out the corner of her eye.

"Hi Nobuyuki," Achika greeted, smiling at her husband.

Nobuyuki carefully reached out, caressing the side of her face, the

tears visibly streaming out of his eyes in happiness. "Is it really you?" he

whispered.

Achika smiled, reaching up and holding his hand in hers. "It's

me," she said, smiling the way she used to.

Nobuyuki slowly wrapped his arms around her and held her close,

squeezing her tightly, crying into her shoulder. Achika also had tears of joy

streaming down her cheeks, so very happy to be in the presence of her

family again. They held each other for what seemed like an eternity, and

Nobuyuki released her, looking into her eyes.

"I can't believe it," he squeaked, unable to find his voice again.

Katsuhito approached her next, his eyes wide as he looked into her

own. She gazed into Katsuhito's old, wrinkled face, and then quickly

wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Katsuhito stood

flabbergasted, carefully wrapping his arms around her as well, holding her.

He hadn't held his daughter in nearly two decades, and it felt good to do it

once again.

"How did he do it?" he asked, as she buried her face into his white

robes.

Raising her face up to gaze into Katsuhito's, she smiled. "Russ

told me that it was because Kain had come back. Since he did, he could do

this for me," she replied. "But he said it was far more complex than that,

and he had to call in a lot of favors. Fortunately, the gods allowed me to

keep my body, as the Grand Kai allows all the powerful warriors who

perish in battle to do that. I was one of them."

Katsuhito nodded his head, completely understanding her.

"Welcome back, Achika. You have no idea how much joy you've brought

to his old man's heart on this day."

"Mother?" Tenchi said, finally taking his turn, stepping up to the

young woman and admiring her from head to toe.

"My Tenchi," she swooned, hugging him dearly. "I'm so happy to

be able to talk to you, one more time," she cried, holding him like only a

mother could do. "I've watched you grow up to be the man you are today,

and I couldn't be happier."

Holding his mother tightly, he began to cry. It was something he

hadn't allowed himself to do for a great many years. He always told

himself that men didn't cry, but it didn't matter now. His level of joy

couldn't be measured by anything. "I can't believe you're here!"

"I'm here, Tenchi, but only for one day. Lets make the most of it,

shall we?" she said, releasing him. She looked around the room at

everybody else, all of which still had the same, awestruck expressions that

they had when she walked into the room. "Hello again, everybody. It's

good to see you all again."

"You remember us?" Washu asked, surprised.

Achika nodded. "After I had passed away, the memories you

erased from me were restored. I know about everything that had

happened."

Washu nodded her head. "It's good to see you again, Lady

Achika," Washu said, still sitting next to her son. "This is my son, Akaki,"

she said, introducing him.

Akaki stood and bowed. "I'm humbled to meet the mother of

Tenchi," he said, showing her the utmost respect. "I've been away from my

mother for over twenty thousand years, and we were just reunited today."

"I know. I saw it happen," she said, nodding her head. "It makes

me feel so happy to be with everybody again, even if it is only for a day."

"Please, sit down and have some tea," Katsuhito said, guiding her

to the lazyboy chair. He poured the tea into a clean cup and gave it to her,

which she accepted, taking a sip. "Strong as always," she giggled, drawing

a light blush from her father.

"It's so wonderful to see you again, Lady Achika," Aeka said,

standing up from her seat on the couch. "But, why are you only eighteen

years old? I thought you passed away many years later?"

Achika smiled. "I chose to be eighteen again, because I was this

age when Kain attacked us. Plus, I was this age when I met Nobuyuki," she

said, causing her husband to blush a light crimson.

The princess smiled and nodded. "But you're real? You aren't

like a ghost or anything?"

"Nope. This is a real body, and it is really me. The only

difference is, I am dead. This halo over my head indicates that," she said

pointing to it.

"I see," Katsuhito said, rubbing his chin.

"You say that too much, daddy," she said, giggling.

Katsuhito grinned, chuckling quietly.

Sasami approached her from the side and smiled. "Hi," she said,

smiling, and bowing politely.

"Sasami. It's very nice to see you again," Achika said. "I'm glad

to see you're happy and well."

The little princess giggled, and then moved away from her, sitting

down on the floor.

"It is very nice to see you again, Achika, but I must excuse

myself," Aeka said, getting her coat and mittens. "I have to go talk to

someone."

Achika nodded her head. "Go get him, Aeka. Don't ever give

up."

She froze for a moment, and then smiled. "I'll never give up. I

won't let this one go. Ever."

Aeka and Achika shared a knowing glance, and then Aeka went

outside.

"I've been watching those two as well," Achika said. "It almost

reminds me of how it went between Nobuyuki and myself. I would've

never guessed that he'd become a pervert after I passed away," she laughed,

causing Nobuyuki to turn as red as one of the Christmas tree bulbs. "I'm

just teasing, sweetie."

Nobuyuki chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "None of

them compared to you, my dear," he replied.

"Good answer," she replied, blushing slightly.

"So mom, what's it like in Heaven?" Tenchi asked, drawing

curious looks from the group.

Achika shook her head. "I can't say much about it, as I've been

forbidden to do so. But I can tell you that it is the most beautiful, amazing

place that could possibly exist. I can see you any time I want, and even

though you can't see me, there have been plenty of times that I've stood

right next to you, watching you grow up into the young man that you've

become," she described, smiling. "And you're going to get married! I was

so overjoyed to watch you propose to Ryoko that I almost couldn't stand

waiting for Russ to come and get me!"

Tenchi looked at her in surprise. "You saw that?"

Nodding her head yes, she smiled. "I've been watching everything

today, as I knew that I'd be coming back to visit everybody. As I said

before, he arranged it months ahead of time."

"I wonder how Russ found the time to do all of that," Kiyone said,

listening to everybody. "He was always so busy training himself."

"I've seen that too," Achika said. "I've seen people like him in

Heaven before. One of them was named Goku, and he looked almost

identical to Russ, except he was a bit shorter, and he always wore orange

clothes. He didn't seem to be very smart, but he was a very nice person and

easy to get along with. He introduced me to some of his friends and they

were all nice as well."

"Wow! What kind of food do they have there?" Mihoshi asked,

thinking about mountains of sweets that she could eat.

Laughing to herself, Achika shook her head. "Food is never a

problem. All the sweets you can eat, Mihoshi," she responded. "But

anyway, please don't ask any more questions about Heaven. Instead, I'd

like to talk with you guys about you. How has my son been treating

everybody?"

Washu cackled evilly. "He's my little guinea pig," she said,

causing Akaki to look at her curiously. "He's a very good one too."

Achika started laughing. "What kind of experiments have you

done to him?"

Washu grinned even wider. "You really wanna know?"

Smiling widely, she nodded her head yes.

"Well, the very first time I scanned him turned out to be very

interesting. You remember it, don't you Tenchi?" Washu asked, causing

him to squirm uncomfortably. Ryoko shot her a look of death, causing

Washu to grin even wider. "Wait 'till I tell her about the experiments I've

done on you, Ryoko."

Everybody sat back and listened as Washu described some of the

things she had done with Tenchi, carefully avoiding any perverted things

she had attempted. Each person described things that they had done with

Tenchi, most of them very hilarious, causing Tenchi to blush and Achika to

almost fall out of her chair laughing. They were all having a great time,

ignoring the passage of the hours.

It was still very cold outside, but Russ ignored it as he went to

Tenchi's training ground, exercising at two thousand times Earth's normal

gravity. Performing his normal routine, he allowed his mind to wander,

thinking about all of the events that transpired throughout the day.

However, despite all the joy that he had given everybody, he still felt a tinge

of depression, nagging him at the back of his mind. No matter how much

joy he could give or receive, he continued to feel alone and depressed, even

in a group of people who loved him.

Living with Tenchi and his family for the past six months had been

quite a ride, as he went to the Startica festival with everybody, fought

against Kain, and now, Christmas. Everybody always did their best to

include Russ in their activities, but it still didn't matter. He still felt alone

and cut off from the outside world. He knew of Zorpheus's impending

arrival and he knew that he had to be at one hundred ten percent to stand a

chance of actually defeating him. They had never fought to kill each other

before, and Russ knew that when a life was on the line, it was a fight where

anything goes. If you win, you live. If you lose, you die. It was that

simple. There were no rules.

Continuing to rapidly punch and kick in the air, spinning around an

invisible circle, he continued to wonder what would happen if he did lose.

He knew failure was not an option, but was possible. Would Zorpheus be

inclined to destroy the planet and everybody on it? Knowing Zorpheus, he

probably wouldn't, but it was still a strong possibility. Would he take his

frustrations out on all of his friends? Again, it was not likely, but possible.

Russ shuddered at the thought of him harming any of his new

friends, especially Aeka. She was always so kind, considerate, and happy

around him, and she was one of the most beautiful people he had ever met,

in mind, body, and spirit. He had only known one person before Aeka who

was very similar to her, and she was killed as a result of his inability to stop

it. He only acquired the power necessary after she was murdered, but by

then, what difference did it make? She was already gone and the power

meant nothing. Russ was able to annihilate and destroy all the people who

had killed her, but he couldn't do the one thing that he wanted to do, and

that was save her life. Never again would he allow something like that to

happen. Not now. Not ever. And in making his decision, he closed himself

off, trying to avoid the love of a woman for the rest of his life. He would

never reveal the real reason behind it all, but instead, make up excuse after

excuse. He almost let it slip when Ryoko asked about it after the Kain

incident, only telling her that there was a girl who was almost like Aeka is.

Except his relationship with that girl was just about ready to progress to the

next step, when it went up in a fireball.

Russ stopped his exercises and looked into the clear, blue,

afternoon sky, the sun shining brightly as the sparrows continued to chirp in

the bare trees. Even though the atmosphere was wonderful and beautiful,

Russ hung his head, now thinking about Aeka. She was so perfect in so

many ways, and it killed him to keep telling her no over and over. He

would give anything to have her, but the risk was far, far too great. If she

were to be killed as a result of trying to become involved in one of his

affairs, he knew that he would probably go insane. Even though he tried to

block out his feelings, he did love her, with almost all of his heart. He knew

that she loved him too and wanted to be with him, and it was becoming

increasingly difficult to keep telling her no. An aching heart can usually

only be healed by the love of another, and he continually denied himself

that love, saying that it was for the best. Zorpheus always told him, "That is

the biggest bunch of bullshit I've ever heard."

Making his way over to the shrine, Russ cracked a smile, thinking

back to how Zorpheus would always try to be a playboy, always asking

other women out on a date, most of which left him groaning in pain from a

kick to the crotch. But that never stopped him. The one thing Russ knew

about him is that he enjoyed the chase more than the prize, and that he was

hard pressed to get into bed, even by some of the most drop-dead gorgeous

women in the universe. He still had a high sense of morals and ethics, and

Russ was proud of him for that. Just that Zorpheus liked to touch far more

than he should have.

Reaching the top of the hill, Russ looked around at the snow-

covered ground, realizing that he should probably remove the snow from

the pathways, as it would have to be done later anyway. Placing his hand

out in front of him, he created a strong wind that blew the snow away,

looking like a blizzard in front of him. Slowly moving forward, he slowly

cleared all the snow from the paths around the shrine. Once he finished, he

picked up a large clump of snow, rolled it into a snowball, and then began

rolling the ball on the ground, gathering more and more snow. After

walking a full circle around the shrine, the ball was nearly six feet in

diameter, and Russ grinned in satisfaction. Rolling up a second snowball,

he made another trip around the shrine, taking a shorter path. The resulting

ball was five feet in diameter, weighing almost a ton. Carefully, Russ

worked his hands under the snowball, lifted it up easily, and set it down on

the first ball, packing it tightly to keep it from rolling off. Rolling up a third

snowball, he made a very short trip around the building, resulting in a much

smaller ball, which he set on top of the snowman, packing it down to keep it

from rolling off. Placing his hand out in front of him, he produced just

enough energy to melt the outside of the snowman, allowing the water to

seep into the snow, packing it down even tighter, and then allowed it to

freeze. He stepped back and admired his handiwork, and then punched a

few small holes in the head for eyes, another for the nose, and a long line

for a big smile.

Russ sighed, looking at it. Even though he made it smile, he was

still sad and unhappy on the inside. Shaking his head, he turned around to

head back down the steps, planning on exercising a little more, but stopped

in his tracks when he saw Aeka standing at the top of the stairs, her hands

folded in front of her as she smiled at him. He walked toward her, but

didn't return her smile, and instead, let the hole in his heart grow a little

larger. It took almost everything he had to keep from bursting into tears in

front of her.

"What's wrong?" she asked as he gave her a fake smile, and then

tried to walk past her.

"Nothing, Aeka. Just thinking."

She grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving her there.

"You've been doing a lot of that lately. You've been hiding it very well,

but you're not happy. I can tell just by the way you made that snowman."

Russ shook his head, pulling himself free. "I'm sorry, Aeka. I

should be happier since it is Christmas and all, but I'm not."

"Why?"

"I miss my parents," he lied, hoping that she'd buy into it.

"I remember you talking about that quite a while ago. But for

some reason, I'm finding it harder and harder to believe that. You're hiding

something, and I want to know what."

"I'm sorry, Aeka, but this is something I cannot talk to anybody

about. Please, go back inside with the family. It's cold out here," Russ

said, starting to descend the stairs.

Aeka turned and kept pace with him. "They're all visiting with

Achika, and you're out here alone. I'd rather be here with you," she said.

Cracking a slight smile, Russ shook his head. "Thanks, but that

isn't necessary."

"Who cares if it is or isn't? I want to be here, and unless you don't

want me here, I'm sticking with you for today."

"Why?"

"I need a reason to be next to you?" she said, sounding hurt.

Russ stopped and looked her in the eyes, and they shared a

moment of the same, lonely depression. "No. You don't need a reason.

It's just that I'm more of a loner."

"It isn't good to be alone, especially on a day like today. Please,

come with me," she said, taking his arm, trying to lead him somewhere.

"Aeka, stop. I already told you before, and I hate to keep

reminding you of it. I don't want anything between us. Friendship is okay,

but nothing more."

"I'm only being friends with you right now, and I know you don't

want to progress it any further, but I want to. I'm not going to stop until

you say yes," she said, yanking his arm, spinning him around to face her

directly. "I'm not someone you can just push aside and walk away. I have

feelings too, you know, and they can be hurt just as easily as your own!"

"I know that! I told you on the day that we met that you shouldn't

pursue me or become interested in me. I knew you were depressed and I

said some things that I probably shouldn't have. The big one was telling

you to wait for me after the battle with Zorpheus. I did try to set the record

straight about a week later, but I think you made your mind up."

"That's right," she said, squeezing his arms tightly. "I have made

my mind up. I want to be with you for the rest of my life," she said,

trembling, letting the tears fall out of the corners of her eyes. "I've never

had the guts to even tell Tenchi that, but I'm sure of it with you. You've

got nothing to lose and everything to gain."

Russ hung his head, furious at himself for making her cry. But he

knew that he was going to have to do it yet again, and it tore at his heart like

a lion on its prey. "I did it again. I made you cry. I'm sorry Aeka, but I

can't do it. I made a decision a long time ago, a personal vow that I would

never fall in love."

Aeka looked at him in shock as Russ grimaced, realizing that he

just revealed the secret he's been trying to keep concealed. "What?" she

asked, unsure if she heard him correctly.

"It's true. I've made a personal promise to myself that I'd never

fall in love. It almost happened once, and because of a horrific tragedy, I

swore I'd never do it again. Never," he said, turning away from Aeka and

continuing down the steps. "The pain was just too great."

Leaping forward, she grabbed him again, holding him tightly from

behind. "I don't care about your stupid promise to yourself," she said.

"Aeka, please stop. Even if you did love me, I still couldn't return

it. I won't allow myself to."

Spinning him around again, she slapped him straight across the

face, her hand leaving a red welt on Russ's cheek. He almost didn't seem to

notice. "WAKE UP, RUSS!" she screamed, shaking him back and forth.

"WHY?!"

"Do you really want to know?" he asked quietly, his face turned

away from her.

"Please!" she said, the tears streaming down her face.

"I had almost fallen in love, once. It was with a beautiful girl I had

met on a planet fairly close to Earth. Her name was Laurie, and she was the

most absolute perfect girl I had ever met in my life. She was always happy,

always had a bright and cheery thing to say, and could bring me out of my

most foul moods with her smile. She wasn't much of a fighter or a warrior,

but she didn't need to be. We had done everything together. We went out

together on several occasions, cooked for each other, and enjoyed each

other's company. Whenever we had a day off, we'd spend it together.

We'd always call each other and talk to each other when we were apart, and

it almost felt as if we were married, or at least, at the first stage of dating.

But we really didn't get serious until after we had been friends for about a

year. She told me that she wanted something more, and honestly, I did too.

We never kissed each other, as we never got the chance. Only a day after

she said she wanted to go steady, the planet was attacked by a group of

pirate raiders. They bombarded the planet, killed almost everybody who

stood in their way. Emergency calls went out on every single

communications channel, and I teleported back to her planet. The men who

were there were extremely strong. They were more powerful than I was, as

I tried to stop them from harming her. I tried to fight them off, but I

couldn't do it. Laurie had come out of the house, screaming at them to stop,

but they just laughed and continued to pound me. She turned and ran back

into the house, locking the door behind her, as she knew that she couldn't

do anything," Russ described, recalling the memory in perfect detail.

Listening in shock, Aeka didn't say anything, as this came as a

total surprise to her.

Russ continued. "The leader of the group told me and his men to

watch what happens to those who stand against him, as he pointed his hand

at the house, releasing a large beam, destroying the house and my friend in

a tremendously huge fireball. Laurie was instantly killed, and when that

happened, a part of me died too. I became infuriated, and could feel my

blood boiling with a rage that I had never felt before. The men who were

holding me couldn't do it any longer, as I easily tossed them away like rag

dolls. I lost my mind, my humanity, and my sanity all at once, as I

transformed and became a super saiyan for the first time. Captain Ginyu

described it best. I became, 'a radically efficient killing machine.' I didn't

feel anything as I destroyed each of the men in turn, killing them off

effortlessly. The leader tried to turn and run, but I put my fist straight

through him, ripping out his heart. I'll never forget the look on that man's

face as he saw his own heart beating in front of him for his last seconds of

life, before he crumpled to the ground, dead. I vaporized him afterwards,

and then killed his entire gang, destroyed all of his ships, everything. I

couldn't be stopped by any means. All I saw was red," Russ said, closing

his fists tightly, playing back the event again in his head. "But even after I

had defeated the gang and their leader, I couldn't bring my Laurie back. I

screamed to the Heavens, begging them to give her back to me, but to no

avail. She got involved with me, and as a result, she was killed. I vowed to

myself that I'd never allow anything like that to happen again, so I

promised myself that I'd never fall in love. It was not only to protect me,

but to protect anybody else who was close to me."

"Oh my god," Aeka whispered, stunned at his revelation. "I never

knew."

"And you would've never known if you didn't ask. I was going to

carry that incident with me to my grave, alone. I don't need someone else

shouldering it too. I don't wish that burden on anyone," he said, looking

down at the Masaki house, which still looked bright, cheery, and festive.

"Russ?"

Sighing to himself, he allowed himself to relax a little. "What is it,

Aeka?"

"You're blaming yourself for something that you couldn't

prevent," she said, walking down the steps to stand in front of him. "Even

if you didn't become involved, she might've still been killed."

Russ shook his head. "If she hadn't come outside and demanded

that they stop, she might've lived and had gone ignored. I should've died

that day, not her."

"But Russ" she began.

"I'm sorry, Aeka," he interrupted. "I've said too much already.

Go back to the house and join everybody with Achika," he said, lifting off

into the air.

"Please wait!" she called after him, but he ignored her. "I'm

chasing you away again, aren't I?"

Stopping his ascent, he hovered in the air, looking like a statue.

Aeka lifted off the ground and joined him, stopping at his height so she

could look him in the eyes. He looked back at her with such a hurt

expression that Aeka thought he was going to start crying himself.

"I'm sorry, Russ. I didn't mean to re-open old wounds. But I want

to shoulder that burden with you," she said, placing her hands on his

shoulders.

"No. This is my problem, and my problem alone," he responded

stubbornly, looking at her, but his gaze wasn't focused on her at all.

"You're a great friend, Aeka. The best one I've ever had, really. If I could,

I'd go out with you in a nanosecond. You are very beautiful, in the body, in

the face, and in the mind. You are an asset to your planet, Princess Aeka,"

he said, using her title. "Your little sister thinks of me as her big brother at

times. She loves playing games, cooking, and doing lots of fun things with

me, and it helps me forget about my past. But when you're around, that old

wound continues to fester, as I remember what happened to her, so many

years ago. You're so much like her too. Just as beautiful, almost always

smiling, and always having a kind thing to say no matter what I do. If you

become involved with me, the risk to you would be too great. I can't let

anything happen to you, as you are far more important than I."

"Stop right there," she said, growing frustrated and angry. "You

think that because I have a title, that my life is more important than yours?"

Russ nodded, looking away.

"You're human, just like me. We breathe the same air, eat the

same food, and do the same things. How could you possibly think that?"

"You live here with us, for now. One day, you will go back home

to rule the most powerful empire in this galaxy," he said, causing her to stop

her tirade. "That is your destiny or your fate. Me, on the other hand, will

continue to fight for the good of the universe, if I survive the battle with

Zorpheus. If I die, it's no big deal. Maybe a dozen people would miss me,

and even they would eventually forget about me. You, if you happened to

die or get killed, an entire EMPIRE would be devastated. Now do you see

what I mean?" Russ asked, still floating in mid-air over the shrine steps.

Aeka stopped and looked at him, unable to come up with a counter

to his argument. She hung her head, letting out a deep sigh. "You could

come with me, you know," she said.

Shaking his head, Russ reached under her tear-streaked chin and

carefully brought her face up to his. "That would never work, and you

know it. I am a man from a race thought to be extinct, and he just waltzes

in to become the Princess's groom? No, that couldn't happen. The entire

planet would probably go up in civil war."

"So what?" she said, squeezing his shoulders more tightly. "I

don't care about that."

"Aeka, you're letting your feelings cloud your judgment. You're

being selfish, and that is not like you. You know it is for the best that we do

not go any further, and I do too. You have a planet and an empire that you

will eventually lead to greatness far beyond what your parents have

established. I know you will. You're fair, just, kind, and compassionate, all

of which I find to be necessary qualities of being the ruler of an empire,"

Russ said, smiling. "There is never a problem with a princess befriending

someone of lower status, but a relationship is out of the question."

Floating quietly, still having her hands on Russ's huge shoulders,

she began to quietly sob to herself. She pulled herself closer to Russ,

wrapping her arms around him, and then burying her face in his coat, letting

out all of her frustrations over her stature, her life, her fate, and her anger.

"It's not fair," she sobbed.

"It's okay, Aeka," Russ said, bringing his arms up to hold her. "I

will always be your friend and I'll always be there when you need me," he

said, slowly descending to the ground. "That's what friends are for, ya

know?"

They both touched down on the ground, their feet crunching in the

snow, still holding each other closely. Aeka had finally stopped crying, but

she didn't get go of him, but Russ didn't mind it. It felt good to hold

another in his arms like that, as he hadn't done it since he was with Laurie.

She was so warm and soft, and Russ wished that he could hold her forever,

but he knew that the evils of the universe would eventually tear her away

from him. If it wasn't going to be the Jurai Empire, it was going to be an

opponent of his. Either way, he knew it wouldn't last, or couldn't last. But

just for the few minutes he was holding her, he would've told the entire

universe to sit down and rotate if it had tried to take her from him.

Quietly, Russ began to hum a song to himself, which he had heard

from the Ah! My Goddess movie. It was called luna aeterna Nemuri wo

Samasu Mono, which was sung by the goddess Belldandy. It was a very

beautiful and peaceful song, and Russ hoped that it would calm her frayed

nerves, as well as his own. Music always soothed the savage beast.

Sighing softly, Aeka finally stood up on her own, steadying herself

by holding onto Russ's arms, and then she gazed into his eyes. Her cheeks

were stained from the many tears she had shed today, but it didn't matter.

Even though he continued to say no, she knew he loved him, and that's all

that mattered. She knew that it was only a matter of time before he'd say

yes, and all she had to do was wait.

"Well mom," Akaki said, standing up from the cushion his mother

provided for him. "I should get back home now. I have to work tomorrow

and my boss will kill me if I'm late again."

Washu turned around from her latest weapon of death and

destruction, a handheld flak cannon not all that dissimilar from the one seen

in Unreal Tournament. "I wish you didn't have to go so soon, but it's okay.

Where do you live now?"

Akaki approached her laptop, keyed a few commands, and a star

chart appeared. A targeting scope focused on one part of the galaxy and

zoomed in, focused on a cluster of stars in between Jurai and Earth,

zooming in further, and finally, he focused on a blue giant star, then brought

up a large image of that planetary system. "I live here," he said, pointing to

the fourth planet from the sun.

"Bikinawa? That's supposed to be a very nice place," Washu

observed.

"It is. The weather control system on that planet is superb. They

have it rain about every two days, and it's always scheduled so there are no

surprises. I've lived there with my stepmother up to now," he said,

scratching his head.

"Your stepmother is still around?" Washu questioned, looking at

him curiously.

"Yeah. She's probably wondering what is taking me so long to

come back home," Akaki chuckled. "She worries, but I love her anyway.

Maybe one of these days I can have her meet you."

"I'd like that," Washu agreed. "She raised you to be a very good

young man. You should be very proud of her, and she of you."

"Oh, I am," Akaki said, thumping his chest. "She's the best."

Washu laughed quietly to herself, hiding what she was really

feeling behind a mask of happiness. "You better call or come visit me soon,

son. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you again."

Smiling widely, he hugged his mother tightly. "One question,

mom. Why are you so young?"

Quietly taking in a breath, she let it out slowly. Backing away

from her son, she bowed her head, put her hands together in front of her,

and in the span of only a second, she morphed into her adult form. She

grew nearly two feet in height, her hair got much longer, and her clothes

stretched tight around her ample frame.

Akaki looked like he was about to pass out, but he recovered a few

moment later, admiring the way his mother was supposed to look. "I'm

glad to see you finally came out of your shell, mother," he said. "I knew

you were hiding your true form, but I must admit, I didn't know you were

going to turn out like that," he said, ogling her.

Washu smiled, striking a pose for him. "What do you think?" she

asked, her voice considerably deeper than it was.

"Great."

"Good. Now stop staring at me like that. It isn't healthy," she

teased, causing Akaki to turn red and look away.

"I'm very happy that I was able to see you again, mom. It was the

most amazing thing I had ever heard when Russ told me he knew where you

were and what relation you were to me. If you hadn't told him about me, he

might not have ever attempted to find me and reunite us. I have no idea

what Christmas is, but I guess it is a holiday where miracles happen," he

said, hugging Washu one more time.

"It is. I'm going to have to do something to repay him one of these

days," she said, holding her son once again. "I wish you didn't have to go

so soon."

"Me neither, but I have to. I will call you and visit you as often as

I can though. You can count on that."

Washu smiled, satisfied with his answer. "How are you going to

get home?"

"I guess Russ can just zap me back home, like he did when he

brought me here," he said, scratching his head. "I have no idea how he does

that."

"Come on, Akaki. Let's go say goodbye to the family and then

you can go," she said, pulling him out of the lab once again.

Walking through the doorway and finding themselves in the living

room once more, Achika, Nobuyuki, Tenchi, and Katsuhito were all seated

on the furniture, quietly talking to each other. Washu knew that it was

going to be a very long night for them, as they still had so much catching up

to do. It warmed her heart to see them so happy once again, and her

happiness was right up with theirs. Russ had made it the best holiday they

had ever been involved in.

"Hey guys," Akaki said, getting their attention. "I have to be

going home now, but it was a great pleasure to meet all of you, including

you, Achika. I wish you all well, and I'll be back to visit sometime in the

future. Washu will make sure of that," he said, eyeing his mom, who hadn't

changed out of her adult form.

"Washu? Why are you so grown?" Nobuyuki asked, casting his

eyes to her blouse, which looked like it was going to burst open at any

moment.

"I cast off my shell. It's time I grew up and faced facts. Besides, I

have my son here with me now, so there is no reason for me to be like that

anymore. Because of how adults had behaved, I turned myself into a child,

never, ever wanting to grow up, because I was afraid I'd become like the

ones that took my son away. But I no longer have to worry about that

anymore," she said, gazing into her son's eyes. "Take care of yourself,

Akaki." She threw her arms around him once more and squeezed him

tightly, trying to keep herself from crying.

"We'll be seeing you later then," Tenchi said, smiling at him.

"You're welcome back here anytime."

"Thanks Tenchi. I really appreciate that," he said, bowing

respectfully. "But where's Russ? I need him to take me back home."

"He left the house several hours ago and hasn't come back in yet.

I think he's with Aeka or something," Nobuyuki said, looking outside at the

darkening sky. "It's amazing how time flies when you're occupied."

"Indeed," Washu said, sighing quietly to herself. "Far too fast."

Akaki walked to the door and peered outside. The little light that

still existed was still more than enough to see out to the forest, as the snow

had made the outside considerably brighter. "There he is," he said, looking

toward the lake.

Aeka and Russ were walking toward the spaceship. She was

hanging on Russ's arm and they moved slowly, seemingly not affected at all

by the blustery cold.

Poking his head out the door, he yelled to the twosome. "Russ!

I'm ready to head back home now! Can you take me back?" he called

"Sure! Just one second!" Russ yelled back, turning to Aeka and

telling her to wait a moment. Russ quickly made his way over to Washu's

son and smiled. "Ready?"

"Yeah," he said, turning toward everybody again. "Say goodbye

to Mihoshi, Sasami, and Kiyone for me, would you?" he requested.

Tenchi nodded his head. "No problem."

Akaki turned back toward Russ and extended his hand. "Let's go."

Grasping his hand in his own, Russ put two fingers to his forehead,

but before he teleported, he saw a tear trickle out of the corner of Washu's

eye, as she smiled and waved. He initiated the instantaneous movement

ability a second later, and vanished.

"Goodbye, my son," Washu said again, her hand outstretched to

where her son stood just moments before.

Washu felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked into the wizened

face of Katsuhito, who looked at her with sympathy. Turning toward him,

she buried her face in his robes, quietly sobbing.

"He will come back, you know," Katsuhito said quietly, holding

her gently.

"It still doesn't make it any easier. I was only able to see him for

such a short period of time today. But I know he'll come back soon," she

said, pulling away from the Shinto priest. Sniffing and drying her eyes, she

turned and went back into her lab, gently closing the door behind her.

It was now late at night, but Achika, Tenchi, and Ryoko were all

still awake, even after everybody else had gone to bed. Russ and Aeka

were still awake too, as they hadn't come inside yet. Sasami was asleep,

snuggled next to Ryo-Ohki, Kiyone and Mihoshi were both sleeping

soundly, happy to be in good company once again, and Nobuyuki was

dozing, a smile on his face. He couldn't stay awake any longer from getting

up so early, and the sake didn't help either.

Tenchi and his mother had talked with each other ever since the

rest of the family had gone to bed. He had been waiting for an opportunity

to talk with her on his own, even though Ryoko refused to go to bed until he

went himself. She remained quiet, contentedly snuggled up against

Tenchi's arm, dozing off from time to time.

Achika looked at her, and smiled. "Your fianc is very pretty,

Tenchi. She looks so cute like that, snuggled against your arm."

Looking down at the top of her head, admiring her spiky, cyan

hair, he smiled and nodded. "She's not like anybody I've ever known. I

love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her. It took me so long

to decide to do that, but I really had to listen to my heart. I decided that this

is the woman that I want to live out the rest of my days with, and I know

she wants the same."

"I know. I've seen some of the events that had led to this, Tenchi.

I saw the Haruna incident, the Kain incident, and many other things that

made me believe that you were in love with this girl. Aeka was deeply in

love with you too, but even she realized that you didn't love her in the same

way that you loved Ryoko, and in turn, she surrendered you to her. It was

one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen and it couldn't have been

played out any better than that," Achika said quietly, trying not to disturb

the sleeping space pirate. "Aeka was heartbroken, but she choose to do it,

despite what you might've thought. Even though you never actually chose,

they did it for you."

"Yeah. I remember how strangely everybody was acting when I

had come back. Ryoko was more calm, but stayed near me far more often

than Aeka did, and whenever Ryoko would show a display of affection,

Aeka didn't mind it or challenge it. After a while, Ryoko and Aeka quit

fighting altogether and became good friends. It has been a lot more

peaceful around here since that time. Once in a while, I almost miss the

loudness and the chaos," he said, watching his mother who was still sitting

on the lazyboy recliner.

Giggling quietly, she smiled. "Yes. But Aeka was very depressed

for along time, even though she did her best not to show it. However, ever

since Russ has entered her life, she has become her old self again, but more

mature, to a point. She tries to do little things to get his attention, but he's

nothing like you," Achika explained, looking out the window at Ryu-Oh.

"Even though he'd probably never admit it, he IS in love with Aeka. It's

just that he had something happen in his past that made him the way he is

today."

Tenchi listened curiously. "Really? You know why he acts like

that?"

She nodded. "But I cannot tell you that. That is something that

he'd have to reveal to you on his own. Do not go asking him about it or it

may make him very, very angry at Aeka, because right now, she is the only

one who knows about it."

"Really? When did he tell her?"

"Today."

Tenchi raised his eyebrow in surprise. "How do you know?"

"Remember Tenchi, I am dead. In being this way, I have access to

knowledge that nobody else would imagine. I can read your mind, Russ's

mind, or do almost whatever I please like this," she explained, resting her

head and curling up on the chair, yawning. "He did tell her today. I wasn't

paying complete attention to it, but I know he did it."

Sighing quietly to himself, Tenchi smiled, and then yawned. "I

still wish I could've grown up with you, mom. I really missed not having

you around. Dad did the best he could and I'm proud of him for everything

that he has done, except for becoming the biggest pervert this side of

Japan," he said, chuckling. "Grandpa helped him out as much as he could,

but still, I missed having a motherly figure around the house. I wish you

hadn't passed away so young," Tenchi said, looking a little sad.

Achika slowly looked down to the floor, letting the smile slip from

her face. "I wish I didn't die as young as I did either, Tenchi. I wasn't able

to be there when you needed me, or was I able to comfort you when you

were feeling down. I couldn't do anything but watch. When you were sad,

I was sad. When you were happy, I was happy. Watching you grow up was

absolutely wonderful, but not being a part of your life made it one of the

worst things I've ever known."

"It's okay, mom. You saved your life and my father's life during

the first battle with Kain. You sacrificed a lot of your life to make sure we

all had a future. I'm proud of you, mom. I couldn't be more proud of you."

Achika looked up into Tenchi's brown eyes, seeing nothing but

truthfulness and happiness from him. The tears flowed freely for a few

moments, but she brushed them away, and then smiled. "Thank you,

Tenchi. I always wondered how you felt about me not being there. It

makes me feel so good to hear you say that. You mean the world to me,

Tenchi. You still do."

Tenchi grinned. "I know."

"Well, it is very late. We should go to bed," Achika said, her eyes

half closed, but she was smiling and looked very contented.

"Yeah. It's past eleven, and I'm usually in bed around nine or

ten," he said, looking out the window. "I'm so happy to have you back,

even if it was just for one day."

Achika continued to smile. "I'm very happy that Russ arranged

it," she said. "I'm not sure about all of the details, but I think Kain was

killed and that he escaped from Hell, but I could still be mistaken. But I

know that he came back here just to get revenge on you and everybody else.

The one thing he didn't count on was Russ being here."

"It's a good thing he was here, or I don't know what would've

happened."

"Kain was a very powerful being, but nothing in any universe can

touch what a saiyan warrior can do," she said, thinking back to the

confrontation. "But because Kain had done what he did, Russ was able to

arrange for my return as well. This had only been done one time before in

the past, and that was with Goku, about a thousand years ago."

Tenchi scratched his head. "I can't remember, but I think Russ

might've said it was only a hundred years ago. Oh well. Maybe my

memory is failing me. Too sleepy," he said, chuckling.

"Let's go to bed, Tenchi. I'll still be here in the morning and I'll

be here until noon tomorrow."

"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?" Tenchi asked, hoping

that she could.

Achika shook her head. "I must return to Heaven. It was difficult

enough for Russ just to give me the one day. Apparently, the Grand Kai

threw a fit, but when he realized what had happened, he became

sympathetic to me and him, and decided to allow it."

"I'll have to make sure Russ knows that I really appreciate what he

has done for us. All of us," he said, looking at Ryoko, who was still

sleeping peacefully, leaning against his arm.

"Would you like to know how he made your compatibility

possible?" she asked, watching Tenchi's ears perk up in interest.

Looking from side to side, he nodded his head. "Sure."

Achika leaned forward a little and lowered her voice. "Have you

ever heard of the Dragonballs?"

Tenchi nodded his head. "Yeah. Russ mentioned them on a

couple of occasions."

"They have the power to grant wishes. The balls summon a

dragon god named Shenron, and that god will grant the person up to three

wishes. Russ used them last night."

"Really? When did he do it?"

"After everybody had gone to bed and went to sleep. I was here

with everybody, and I watched what Russ was doing. He flew out of the

house when everybody had fallen asleep and went to Kame's lookout,

where they had gathered the Dragonballs for him. Once he summoned the

dragon, he made his three wishes. The first one was major, in that he

wished for the dragon's ability to grant immorality to be banished forever.

The second wish was to restore Aeka's ship, and the third wish was for you

two to become compatible and be able to bear a healthy, happy baby,"

Achika said, watching Tenchi's widening eyes.

"So he DID perform a miracle last night," he said, looking at her in

wonder.

She nodded her head. "Yes."

"Then we owe him a debt of gratitude that we can never repay,"

Tenchi said, leaning back into the couch a little more, adjusting his arm,

which was starting to fall asleep. Ryoko stirred slightly, then drifted back

to sleep.

Achika shook her head. "No. He did it because he wanted to, not

because you asked it of him. It was a gift from him to you, and seeing you

two smile was more than enough to make him satisfied."

"Still, I wish I could do something like that for him. It seems

almost unfair that he should perform miracles for our sake when we can't

return the favor."

"That's what I love about you, Tenchi. You're always so kind and

fair. Your father and grandfather raised you well. I'm so proud of you, my

son," she said, smiling.

Tenchi blushed, embarrassed over the praise he was receiving.

"Thank you, mom."

They sat in silence for a few moments, and then Achika stood up

from her seat, stretching her arms over her head, letting out a big yawn.

"It's time for bed," she whispered. "I'll see you in the morning, Tenchi."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"With my husband, of course," she said, smiling. "He'll be

pleasantly surprised to wake up next to me, just like he used to," she said,

remembering the many good times she shared with him.

Tenchi nodded his head. "Good night, mom. See you in the

morning," he said, watching her quietly ascend the stairs and turn down the

hallway, her long, black ponytail trailing behind her. He turned his

attention to his new bride to be, and gently scooped her up in his arms. She

was a little heavier than he thought she'd be, but he was very careful and

gentle with her, as he too, climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

After closing the door behind him, he quietly walked over to his

bed and carefully laid Ryoko down on the mattress, which was unmade

from when they woke up early this morning. Covering her up, he looked

down on her, thinking she resembled a kitten, snuggled under the covers.

She looked so happy and contented, and it warmed his heart even more.

Bliss was almost an understatement for the happiness that he felt, and

nothing could take that away from him.

He took off most of his clothes and he too, slid under the covers,

but he then started thinking about his mother's return to the other world,

and how he'd probably never see her again for the rest of his life. But still,

it was a huge treat to be able to see her again. Remarkable, amazing, or

even a marvel couldn't describe what Russ had done for him and his family

in bringing her back.

Sleep continued to pull at Tenchi's mind, and he closed his eyes,

allowing sleep to overtake him, recharging his mind, body, and soul for the

last and final day of Achika's return.

"Well, Aeka. We should go inside the house and go to bed. It's

almost midnight," Russ said, sitting on the mirror bench that she kept in her

room onboard Ryu-Oh. Aeka was seated at the foot of her bed, and they

had been talking to each other for the past several hours. She had given

Russ a tour of her ship, showing him the many interesting technologies that

went into the construction of a Royal Tree-ship. She could tell that Russ

was impressed, but he was disappointed in the lack of computerized

technology.

For the fourth time in the last fifteen minutes, Aeka yawned,

stretching her arms over her head. Flopping back onto her king-sized bed,

she continued to stretch, causing her sweater to roll up her stomach,

exposing a little bit of skin, but she quickly re-adjusted it and covered

herself back up again.

"We should, I guess. Everybody is probably wondering where we

went," she said, looking at the ceiling of her room, which was covered in an

abundance of plant life. The soft lighting of her bedroom accentuated it,

making it look very cozy.

Russ stood up from the bench, rubbing his behind from sitting on it

awkwardly. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Looking at him with happy, but tired eyes, she smiled. "Why

don't we just spend the night in my ship? Nobody will miss us. Sasami has

Ryo-Ohki and you sleep alone, so why not?" she invited.

Grinning, Russ shook his head. "And start all kinds of rumors?

No way."

"What if we make those rumors true?" she grinned, the light

reflecting off of her amethyst eyes, making her look far, far more attractive

in the low light. The shadows enhanced her look, especially around her

chest area.

Russ closed his eyes, but continued to smile. "Now Aeka, we

talked about that already. We're just friends. That's all."

"You're no fun," she teased, rolling onto her side to face him

directly, as he moved over to the stairs. "Come on. You can sleep on the

floor or in the bed. It doesn't matter. I'm not going to do anything and I

know you're not. It's just a sleepover. Nothing more," she invited again,

smiling seductively.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Nope. Never," she responded, sitting up. "Besides, I haven't

slept in my bed since Ryu-Oh crashed about three years ago."

"I'm not stopping you from being here," Russ said, leaning against

the doorjamb. "I'll be heading back to my igloo for a room. I'll see you in

the morning, Aeka."

For the very first time, Aeka used a zanzoken technique, and

appeared directly in Russ's path. He stopped in his tracks, utterly surprised

that she had learned it without any additional help. "When the"

"Going somewhere?" she giggled, pushing him back into the room.

"I've got a spare futon. You can sleep right here," she said, pointing to the

foot of her bed.

"Aeka! Now cut that out," he said, trying to get around her.

"Cut what out, Tenchi?" she said, causing him to look at her in

bewilderment.

"Tenchi?! What are you talking about?"

Aeka grinned. "You're acting just like he used to." She again

gave him a gentle shove, pushing him a little further into the room. "Just

spend the night in here. That's all I ask. What's the harm in that?"

"What's the harm in me going back to my room?" Russ retorted,

starting to enjoy her teasing a little.

"You have no idea how vindictive a Jurian Princess can be when

she's been scorned or refused," she said, looking into his eyes with a fire

that Russ had never seen before. "Let me fetch the futon and you can sleep

down there," she said.

"But, I don't have my fan here. I always have to have a fan or

something running when I go to sleep. It helps me relax," he said, now

feeling uncomfortable.

"Excuses, excuses," she said, walking past him to her closet, where

she fetched a blue futon. She threw it at him, but he caught it easily.

"Make your bed. You're spending the night in here, with me," she said,

smiling. "I must change into my nightclothes. Don't go anywhere now, or

I'll have to hurt you." Turning away from him, she went into her walk-in

closet, looking for her silk lingerie nightgown.

Russ groaned quietly to himself, knowing he was going to regret

this. Unwrapping the futon, he spread it out on the floor, working the

wrinkles out of it. He finished about two seconds before Aeka walked out

of the closet, wearing a gorgeous, partially transparent nightgown. Her gold

necklace was barely visible though the clothing, but her assets were VERY

apparent. Russ's eyes went wide and he instantly turned several shades of

crimson, turning his head away, but peeking at her through the corner of his

eye.

"Whoa. Um, that's a very revealing piece of clothing you have

there, Aeka," he stammered.

"My mother gave me this before I originally left Jurai. She told

me to wear this when I met someone I was attracted to," she said, moving

across the floor and coming up behind Russ, gently taking his arm and

holding it.

Russ's muscles became considerably stiffer as his nerves started to

fray. "It's very nice," he said, still not looking at her.

Giggling quietly to herself, she was pleased with his reaction.

"Well, why don't you get into your nightclothes then, too?" she said.

"I just sleep in my underwear," he said. "But I'll sleep in my

clothes tonight."

"Why? Afraid to show me something?" she teased.

Russ looked at her, and a second later, looked away, forgetting for

an instant that she was wearing something extremely sexually appealing.

"You just want to see me with my shirt off, is that it?" he asked, teasing her

back.

She walked over to the side of her bed, furthest from the stairs.

"That's part of it," she said, folding back the covers, carefully climbing into

the ultra soft sheets and very warm comforter.

"Bah," Russ said, tossing back his own blanket and sliding in.

"Good night, Aeka. If rumors start blowing around about this, I'm going to

kill you," he said, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"I don't care," she said, laying back against her pillow, feeling

right at home once again. "Ahhh, this bed feels so good. It's been so long

since I've been in it," she said, wistfully.

Out of sight, Russ smiled and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Dim the lights," she commanded.

"How?" Russ answered, but he didn't need to. The lights in her

room grew dark, and then turned off, however, there was still a very soft

glow coming from several nightlights from around the room. "Oh."

Giggling quietly to herself, she snuggled into the covers, dozing

off very quickly, tired out from the day's activities. Russ, on the other

hand, took a little longer due the lack of his fan, but he too, fell asleep. The

two Jurai Guardians remained on guard outside of her chamber, doing their

silent duty once again.

Morning approached rapidly, but there was no sunlight on this day.

The sky was gray and overcast, but it was a little warmer than it had been

over the last couple of days. A fog had settled into the valley as the snow

began to melt, surrounding the house in a thick cloud. You couldn't see the

forest from inside the living room.

However, in contrast to the gloomy weather outside, Nobuyuki

woke to one of the most pleasant surprises he had ever had. Achika was

curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder, sleeping soundly. Her

golden halo was still on top of her head, but it didn't interfere with her

posture. Almost forgetting that she had come back for a day, Nobuyuki

blinked his eyes, reached out with a trembling hand, and very gently

touched Achika's arm, feeling her warmth.

"Good morning, honey," she whispered, letting her eyes open

slowly. She had the most gorgeous, perfect smile that Nobuyuki had ever

seen, and it warmed his heart to be near her once more.

"Good morning," he whispered back, smiling down into her young

face. "You're still as beautiful as the day I met you," he said, holding her

close.

"I hope so," she said, grinning. "I came back like this just for that

reason."

Soft, gray light filtered in from his window as he looked at his

wife, never wanting to let her go, ever again. They laid there for several

more minutes in silence, just enjoying each other's company.

"You have to go back today?" Nobuyuki asked, quietly, as it

almost looked like Achika had dozed back off.

"Mmmm hmm," she mumbled. "I wish I didn't have to. But it

was still wonderful to be able to come back and see you all again in person,

though."

"I'm glad you came back too. I missed you so much," he said,

hugging her tightly.

Achika smiled. "I missed you too. I missed having you hold me

close. I missed having you make me laugh. I missed the warmth of your

touch and the smile on your face," she said, looking at him passionately.

"You have no idea how much."

"If I could change fate, I would," Nobuyuki said. "I'd conquer the

universe if it meant you could stay with me for the rest of my life."

"I know," she said, snuggling against Nobuyuki's chest.

"I wonder if Russ could do anything about it," he said aloud,

looking at the ceiling.

Achika shook her head. "No. Unfortunately, he cannot. Not even

with the power of the Dragonballs. I've been dead for far too long, and

restoring my life now would be impossible."

"Why?"

"The Dragonballs can restore a life, but only if the person died

within a year's time. If it goes beyond that, the dragon can't grant that

wish."

Nobuyuki sighed calmly. "I guess it was our fate," he quietly said.

"Fate can be a very cruel thing," Achika said, gazing into her

husband's face. "I wish it didn't have to be this way, but it was hard

enough just for Russ to give me this one day. That, in itself, was a

miracle."

"I'm glad he did. I owe him more thanks than I could ever

provide," he said, sighing again. "When will he be taking you home?"

"At noon today," she answered. "Why don't we get up and make

breakfast for the family, just like we used to?"

Nobuyuki smiled. "I'd like that," he answered.

Throwing back the covers, they slowly got out of bed, and then

dressed themselves. After they got into the kitchen, they brought out

several pots and pans, and gathered a variety of ingredients. Achika took

half the stove and Nobuyuki took the other half, and they began cooking.

Every once in a while, they'd bump into each other, smile, and continue

what they were doing.

Letting his pan simmer, Nobuyuki went into the dining area and

quickly set the table, providing a set of chopsticks for everybody, a napkin,

and a teacup. Even though Christmas was over, the living room still looked

like a winter wonderland, sparkling a variety of colors and reflecting the

dull light off of the decorations. He smiled, and then quietly thanked

Heaven for letting his wife return to him, even though it was for only one

day. But then, just as silently, he thanked Russ too. Quickly returning to

the kitchen, he shook his pan, stirring the vegetables with his cooking

chopsticks.

"I hope we have enough stuff to feed everybody," Nobuyuki said,

glancing over at his young wife. "Russ is a bottomless pit."

Giggling quietly, Achika nodded her head. "I saw him eat a couple

of times, but it is still nothing like seeing it in person. But we should have

more than enough for everybody."

After a few moments, Sasami slid open the kitchen door, looking a

little sleepy, but very happy and contented. She was smiling, and Ryo-Ohki

was perched on top of her head, as usual. "Good morning you two," she

greeted. "It smells good."

"Thank you, Sasami," Achika responded, finishing off her stir-fry

and letting the contents spill out onto a serving platter. "You're a very good

cook too."

"Thanks. May I help?" she asked, stepping over to the refrigerator

and withdrawing a box of eggs, milk, cheese, ham, and orange juice.

Nobuyuki grinned. "Sure! I'm just finishing with my side of the

stove, so you can use these burners," he said, piling his vegetables next to

Achika's, on the same platter.

Taking Nobuyuki's frying pan and wiping the juices out of it with

a bunch of paper towels, she set it back on the stove, then withdrew a bowl

out of a nearby cupboard. Cracking three eggs into the bowl, she beat them

with Nobuyuki's chopsticks, and then she took three pieces of cheese,

tearing them up and mixed those into the eggs. She set it aside, and then

began dicing up the ham, after which she dumped into the eggs as well.

"What are you making, Sasami?" Achika asked, unfamiliar with

the dish she was making.

"It's called an omelet. Russ showed me how to do one a little

while after he moved in," she explained, dumping the contents into the

frying pan, where it immediately started sizzling. Withdrawing a spatula

from one of the drawers, she slid it under the eggs, making sure they didn't

get stuck.

Watching her curiously, Achika realized that she was starting to

fall behind, so she started to make the Kyoto miso soup, as she knew it was

Tenchi's favorite flavor. It was a light, sweet kind, and she liked it too.

The breakfast making frenzy continued for another twenty

minutes, until it was ready to be served. The smells from all the food had

roused everybody out of their slumber, and everybody trudged downstairs,

all of them happy and all of them seemingly satisfied.

Kiyone and Mihoshi had today off as well, and they were going to

enjoy themselves. They had gone up into their spaceship yesterday and

they confirmed the message from the Galaxy Police Headquarters, and that

they were now going to be providing funding for their living expenses.

Kiyone was very happy and relieved, but Mihoshi didn't seem to care either

way, as long as she could have her sweets.

Smiling at each other like the day they had first met, Tenchi and

Ryoko had come downstairs quietly, and took their seat at the table. The

engagement ring that was on Ryoko's finger glittered brightly, and she

continued to admire it, so very happy that her wish had come true, in more

ways than one.

Washu had come out of her lab, still in her adult form. She was

wearing an adult sized science academy uniform now, but she still looked

very attractive. Even though her son wasn't with her, she still had a bright

smile and a happy aura about her, since her son did call her earlier in the

morning. That was all she needed to brighten her day.

After the group had sat down at the table, Katsuhito, Aeka, and

Russ all walked in at once, all of them satisfied and happy. Aeka took her

usual seat, but Achika was in Russ's, but he didn't mind. Taking a plate

and filling it with food, he sat on the floor a little distance away, eating

much slower than he normally did, not wanting to get back up so quickly.

He hated reaching over anybody. Aeka put up a brief argument, but didn't

pursue it for very long.

Breakfast passed by fairly quickly, as most people were unable to

finish all the food. But before they began to clean it up, Russ sat down in

his seat, kicking himself into overdrive, consuming every morsel of food

that was left. Achika looked at him, a small sweatdrop on the side of her

head, but she smiled and laughed quietly once he let out a large belch,

which Russ did his best to conceal.

"Yum. Good stuff," he said, standing up, and then heading back

outside. Aeka followed him a few moments later.

Smiling in complete pleasure, Achika remained sitting at the table,

next to Nobuyuki.

"It feels like everybody here is a part of my family," she said,

quietly.

"They're all a part of the family now. They help fill the loneliness

that I have when I think about you when you're gone," Nobuyuki

responded, keeping his voice low.

Achika sighed. "Well, I have about two hours left to stay. What

would you like to do until then?"

Quietly debating with himself, thinking of several different things

that they could possibly do, he failed to come up with anything.

Sliding over to her husband, Achika whispered into his ear. "We

could watch some of your porn," she said, causing him to turn several

shades of red. She giggled, and then started laughing. "I'm kidding."

He smiled in response, and put his arm around her. "If you don't

mind, I'd just like to sit here for a little longer."

"That's fine with me," she responded quietly, watching Sasami and

Ryo-Ohki play a fighting game on her Playstation. "That's perfectly fine

with me."

Setting his gravity machine back to two thousand times Earth's

normal gravity, Russ began his warm-up exercises, stretching his legs, back,

and his arms. After doing that for several moments, he felt good enough to

begin training. The fog had lifted, but the sun was still behind all the

clouds, unable to break through.

"Would you mind if I trained with you today, Russ? I'd like to

practice sparring against you, this time," she said, stretching and performing

her own warm-up routine.

Grinning to himself, Russ decided to tease her. "Oh, so since you

learned the blur technique, you think you're good enough to train on my

level now, is that it?" he said.

"Nope. I just want to spar against you, that's all. I've got a few

surprises up my sleeve," she said, stretching her arms over her head.

"Besides, I need to work off this breakfast."

Russ shook his head, but smiled. "Okay, but I'm not going to go

all that easy on you," he taunted, standing on his hands, pushing himself

into the air several times.

"That's fine with me," she responded, tilting from side to side,

groaning quietly.

After a few more minutes of warm-up, Russ and Aeka faced each

other at the lake edge.

"How about we make a little bet?" Aeka invited, smiling

mischievously.

"I'm open to suggestions."

Aeka smiled. "If I can land a punch or a kick anywhere on you,

you have to agree to make me breakfast for the next week," she said,

putting her fists out in front of her.

"And if you don't do it in a time span of one minute, you uh

Well, I can't have you making anything in the kitchen. I'm not interested in

being poisoned," he teased, seeing Aeka's cheeks grow a little red.

"Why you little" she yelled, charging him, her fist outstretched,

aimed directly for his face.

Russ nodded his head to the side, smiling at her, letting her fists

sail past harmlessly. "Missed me!" he taunted, making the princess more

irritated. She began a frenzy of punches and kicks, but Russ placed his

hands in front of each blow, blocking them effortlessly, smiling widely. He

didn't move from his position, but Aeka rotated around him, trying to land a

blow on his back, his head, his chest, or anywhere else that she thought was

venerable. After a moment, he caught one of her fists in his hand, spun

around a few times, tossing her into the air.

"That's not fair!" she shouted, throwing a green ki ball at Russ,

who swatted it back into the sky, where it fizzled out. She charged him

again, trying to land a punch or a kick somewhere, but Russ's hands were

just too fast. They appeared everywhere she tried to hit, and she only had

about thirty seconds remaining. Even though Russ never actually moved

from where he was standing, he was still impossible to hit. Using the

zanzoken technique for the second time, she blurred behind Russ and swung

her leg at his head, but again he blocked it, turned around to face her, a big

grin on his face.

"Not bad, but too slow," he said, throwing her into the air again.

Only having five seconds remaining, she zanzokened behind him

again, but instead of trying to punch or kick him, she grabbed Russ's arm,

swung herself in front of him, and then drove her fist directly into Russ's

face, knocking him off of his feet, causing him to skid about twenty five

feet from where he was. She landed on the ground, stunned at what had just

happened.

"Oww," Russ groaned, getting up. His coat and pants were soaked

from the melting snow, but he quickly powered up, drying his clothes, and

then returned to normal.

"You did that on purpose!" Aeka shouted, storming up to him.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Tough to tell, isn't it?" Russ

snickered, a red mark on his cheek from her impact. "But it isn't a total

loss. I don't have to eat raw sewage and I get to cook for a week. I think

it's a nice tradeoff, don't you?" he said, watching her grow super red.

"I CAN COOK!" she screamed, driving her fist into Russ's face

again at such a high rate of speed that it sent him flying into the side of the

mountain where he impacted, creating a small crater. Her eyes went wide

when she saw the debris go up from where he crash-landed. "Oh my god!

I'm so sorry!" she yelled, quickly flying over to him.

For the second time today, Russ picked himself up off of the

ground. "You've gotten a lot stronger and faster. I'll have to remember

that for our next sparring match," he said, smiling, relaxing in his crater.

"But now, I need a bath."

Aeka continued to apologize over and over, still stunned at what

she did.

On the inside of the house, Sasami, Nobuyuki, and Achika all

laughed, looking at the twosome outside enjoy themselves.

Noontime came all too quickly for the family. Russ was sitting at

the organ bench, playing a few tunes to himself through the headphones as

the family said their goodbyes to Achika.

The happy mood that existed throughout the household seemed to

be on the verge of leaving with Achika's imminent departure, but

everybody did their best to hide it. The entire family was seated in the

living room, ready to say goodbye for the last time. They all knew that

they'd never see her again in this lifetime, but the time that she had spent

with the family was time that would always, always be cherished.

Nobuyuki had taken several group photographs of everybody, including

Russ, for safekeeping in his photo album that he kept solely of Achika. He

decided it was time to add a little more to that book.

Achika stood up, as the clock had read eleven fifty five a.m. "I'm

so happy that I was able to come back and see everybody. It is a new

memory that I will take with me for all eternity," she said, trying to keep

from crying, but failing. Several tears trickled out of the corner of her eyes

and she brushed them away, but they were quickly replaced.

Nobuyuki stepped up to her first, hugging her for the last time.

"Take care of yourself, my love," he said, squeezing her. "I will miss you

and will think of you every day."

"I know," she said. "I'll be watching you."

Smiling, brushing away his own tears, he stepped aside, allowing

Katsuhito to step up.

"It was wonderful to have you spend the time you did with all of

us. You will be missed," he said, hugging his daughter. "Please take care

of yourself."

"I'll miss you too, dad," she said, sniffling.

"Mom?" Tenchi said, standing to her left.

"Yes, son?" she responded, turning toward him, noticing that he

too, was crying.

"I'll miss you. Thank you for coming to visit us for a day. You

have no idea how much that meant to me, dad, and grandpa," he said,

holding his mother close.

"I know, Tenchi. I know. I'm happy that I was able to come here

as well. It has given me an opportunity to actually say goodbye to

everyone, and I can't thank Russ enough for that," she said, looking at the

saiyan, who was now quietly sitting on the bench, watching the farewells.

"I'll be watching over you. All of you," she said, looking around the room

at the tear filled, smiling faces.

"Goodbye, Lady Achika," Aeka said, bowing respectfully.

"See you around," Ryoko included, folding her arms behind her,

smiling, as Tenchi moved to stand next to her.

Sasami ran up and threw her little arms around Achika's waist,

smiling up at her, despite the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'll miss

you," she said, hugging her. Ryo-Ohki also meowed at her from atop

Sasami's head.

"I'll miss you too, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki," she said, sniffling

again.

Mihoshi waved her hand, smiling happily. She was the only one in

the room who wasn't saddened by her departure, but instead, looked on it

with happiness. "Bye bye! Eat all the sweets you can while you're there in

Heaven!" she said, causing Kiyone to hang her head in shame.

Achika giggled and nodded her head. "I will, Mihoshi."

"Take care of yourself, Lady Achika," Kiyone said, bowing out of

respect.

"Thank you for coming, Achika," Washu said, also bowing

politely.

Smiling at both of them, Achika nodded her head.

Russ stood up from his seat on the bench and slowly approached

her from the side. "Are you now ready, Achika?" he asked quietly, as the

clock and now read noon.

Taking a deep breath through her mouth, she let it out in a huge

sigh. "Goodbyes are never easy," she said, looking into his eyes.

"I know," he answered, extending his hand.

Turning toward the group one last time, she tried to smile, sniffling

once more. "Goodbye, everyone. Take care of yourselves, and always

know that I'll be watching over you," she said, placing her hand gently in

Russ's.

A chorus of sobs and goodbyes quietly burst from the group as

Russ placed his two fingers to his forehead. Feeling a sense of sadness

himself, he shook it off as he initiated his special ability, and the two of

them vanished from sight.

"I still want to thank you, Russ, for going through all the trouble

you did to take me back home," Achika said, standing at the entrance to the

Earth's check-in station. "There is no way me or the family could ever

repay this debt of gratitude.

Russ smiled and shook his head, gently brushing away her tears

with his hand. "It's okay. Doing this for people like them and you is what

makes me happy, and that is more than enough for me," he said.

Wrapping her arms around Russ, she hugged him tightly, burying

her face in his green karate gi, quietly sobbing. He held her close until she

was finished, gently rubbing her back and doing his best to soothe her.

"Well," Russ said, looking at the checkpoint. "I guess it is time for

you to rejoin the others. They're waiting for you in Heaven, you know."

"I know, but it still doesn't make it any easier," she said, sniffling.

"You can still see your family anytime you want as well."

"But I can't participate in it. I wish I could."

Russ continued to hold her, letting out a heavy sigh. "If I could do

something about it, I would. But even the gods cannot do certain things.

They have to obey fate, or the universe would come apart," he explained.

"I guess you're right," she said. "You take care of my family now,

you hear?"

"Yes, ma'am," he answered, releasing her, smiling down into her

brown eyes.

Taking several steps away from him, she then turned toward the

check-in station, slowly heading back home. But before she got too far, she

turned back toward Russ.

"Just so you know, Zorpheus is on his way."

Russ nodded his head. "Yes, I felt it. He's coming to Earth to

wish for immortality from the Dragonballs, but he's got a nasty little

surprise if he tries to do it."

"Yeah. I guess so."

"Take care of yourself, Achika. It was an honor and a pleasure to

meet you," he said, smiling at her, hoping to alleviate some of the sadness

she had.

"Likewise, Russ. But just so you know, Zorpheus will arrive on

June twelfth. You will have to be prepared to face him by then."

Russ's eyes widened at her revelation. "I will not fail. Your

family is in good hands," he announced, thumping his chest.

"The best hands," she answered, turning and running to the

building.

Watching her go inside, Russ sighed once again. "Only six more

months to go," he said. "I hope everything will be ready by then."

Placing two fingers to his forehead, Russ took one last look at the

check-in station. "Bye, Achika. I'll protect your family, or die trying," he

said, disappearing from the spirit realm for the last time.


	16. Chapter 16

Ep 16 Violent Heart

This is it! The Final Battle will take place in this chapter. Beware,

there will be colorful language, a lot of violence with involved

descriptions, and the rating on this chapter will be somewhere

around PG13. I hope you enjoy it, as there will only be 1 or 2

chapters after this, and this story will be concluded. Tenchi Muyo

and Dragonball Z are copyrighted via Pioneer and Funimation

respectively. If you like (or even hate) the story, feel free to send

me fanmail at . I absolutely love getting mail

having to do with the fic, and it continually motivates me to do

more. Anyway, enjoy the battle! Oh, and a very special thanks to

the REAL Zorpheus for role-playing his dialog. I couldn't have

done it without ya!

Feel free to come visit my website .net or

.net:81. It's a massive Tenchi website consisting

of MP3s, video clips, over 19,000 screenshots, character

descriptions, and much more, including additional fanfics by other

authors.

"Aeka? What is wrong with Russ?"

Sasami, the little blue haired princess, was sitting quietly

on the porch looking out toward the lake, watching the ripples on

the water. It was already late in the day, but the weather was very

pleasant. A stiff breeze came from the west, moving the eighty-

degree air around swiftly, causing her long ponytails to flap lazily

in the wind. Reaching up to move one of her bangs out of her face,

she swept it behind her ear and sighed softly, feeling at peace with

the world around her. Looking absolutely beautiful and more

mature since last year, she turned her eyes away from the lake and

toward her sister, who was sitting next to her.

It had been almost exactly one year since Russ had

arrived at the Masaki home, and it had been one hell of a ride for

everybody. He was so much fun to be around and so easy going

that she felt that he was her big brother, who always looked out for

her and always was there for her, no matter what. On a few

occasions, she felt down, sad, and lonely, but Russ would stop

whatever it was he was doing and wouldn't leave her alone until

she smiled and felt herself again. He cared for her like no other,

and almost surpassed the attention and care she received from her

mother.

Surprisingly, he was an excellent teacher as well.

Whenever she had a question and Washu wasn't available, he

would help her with it and assist her in finding a correct answer,

whether it was with cooking or trying to fix something that broke.

He was easy to understand and had simple explanations for even

really complex problems. On many occasions, she would sit with

him on the organ bench and watch him play for hours, and several

times she commented that she wished she could play as well as

him. Russ smiled, and began to teach her some very basic songs

on the organ, showing her how to keep time, how to create the

instruments and rhythms along with various other things, including

reading the sheet music. On multiple occasions, they played duets

together on the organ. She would sit on Russ's lap and he'd play

two of the keyboards, and she'd play on the third. They'd sing

together, and the entire family would congregate in the living room

to listen, and on occasion, join in with the two. It was a blast to

have him around, and he was the most fun person she had ever

known.

But lately, somewhere around for the last week or so,

Russ seemed to be more withdrawn and reclusive than he had been

in the past. He'd disappear for hours on end without a trace, and

when he'd come home, it would be very late at night and he really

didn't have much to say. He'd head up to his room without

visiting with the family and not play the organ anymore.

Everybody had begun to take notice and start worrying, but he

never told anybody what the problem was.

At present moment, he was sitting up in his tree, being

very silent and withdrawn. He almost looked like he was asleep,

but his eyes were open and very distant. His hair moved in swirls

with the wind and his clothes flapped with the gusts. Even though

he looked at peace, she knew he was very worried and concerned

about something. She felt that it had to do with Zorpheus's

impending arrival, but she didn't know exactly when he'd come.

Trying not to let it bother her, she debated that it could've been

something else, but it still worried her, and was looking for some

reassurance.

"I don't know, Sasami. It's the first time I've seen him

like this," the first crown princess of Jurai responded, resting back

on her hands, letting her summer clothes flutter with a gust of

wind. It had been a while since she wore her kimonos, and had

since then switched to Earth clothing. She was currently wearing a

comfortable short sleeve t-shirt with a logo of the three saber

marionettes on the front and a pair of jeans shorts. Her long,

purple hair was bound behind her back in one long ponytail, tied at

the end with a small blue ribbon. She had a set of three bangle

bracelets on her left wrist made from polished marble stone,

colored blue and black, and a dragon armband that went around the

top of her bicep, the same one she wore with her training gi, which

was a gift from Russ.

She too had gotten more ladylike and adult, as her figure

had filled out a little more, just as she hoped. Since training with

Russ, she became more defined as well. Small muscles showed

themselves in her arms and legs, and she looked positively

stunning. Remarkably, she still maintained her gorgeous, soft,

alabaster skin, and she had tanned slightly as well, and she felt

more confident in her appearance because of it.

Breathing deep, taking in the scent of freshly mowed

grass and the smell of clean, pure air from the surrounding forest,

she too felt at peace with the world, and it helped her let all of her

cares go away for the time being. That is, all except for one. She

too had noticed Russ's reclusiveness and was wondering why his

behavior had become the way it was. Unfortunately, he was too

stubborn to tell the family what the problem actually was or why

he was worried, and it drove her crazy. He kept way too many

secrets to himself and was very bad at hiding them too.

Nevertheless, the past year that he had spent with the

family was nothing short of breathtaking and wonderful. He was

so amazing and fun to be around that she had gotten to the point

where she couldn't stand it when he was apart from her. She knew

that she was obsessed with him, but far more with him than she

ever was with Tenchi.

Looking back on her lost love, she became more and

more skeptical over the way she used to be with him. Tenchi was

stiff, inflexible, and really not much fun to be around. He always

pushed both her and Ryoko away at the time, and refused to do

anything with either of them. Even now, as she looked at Tenchi

and Ryoko's relationship, she didn't see that much of a change in

him. True, he did show more affection, but he really didn't DO

much with Ryoko. He was always home, training, going to school,

or doing other things besides enjoying life with his sweetheart.

The only time he really spent with her was at night, when they'd

both go to bed. True, they did spend some time together when

Tenchi was doing his other activities, but only because Ryoko

basically followed him around like a little puppy dog. She'd

always ask to go do things, but he continually turned her down,

saying that he had other things that he needed to take care of. For

the most part, Ryoko just contented herself to be near him, as her

love for him was absolute and unwavering. Ryoko began to

understand the way things worked on Earth, and she accepted it

easily enough. She would do anything for Tenchi. On multiple

occasions, she trained with him in much the same way she trained

with Russ, but Tenchi wasn't really that much of a match for her,

and it didn't satisfy her to go up against him. There was more than

one occasion when Tenchi was at school and Ryoko was feeling

very bored and lonely, that she invited herself out to train with

Russ. Both Ryoko and herself would go up against the super

saiyan and have a great time, especially with Russ's easygoing

sense of humor. Russ loved fighting against both Ryoko and her,

and it made her feel good that he was so accepting to the both of

them.

Aeka wondered how she would've found Tenchi if he

chose her over Ryoko. Would he have been the same way, or

would he have done even less with her? The only reason Tenchi

really did anything with Ryoko was because of her pleading. Since

she wasn't like Ryoko and didn't really pressure anything onto

anybody, they probably wouldn't have done much of anything at

all. She knew that she wouldn't have been satisfied with that, but

because he was willing to sacrifice himself for anybody, she

would've dealt with it. He was far too honorable and heroic to just

turn away, but how long would that have been enough?

She shook her head, reorienting her thoughts back to

Russ. Now there was a man who would do anything for anybody,

just to make them happy. Many occasions, she saw how Sasami

and him would do things together and how it made her sister feel.

Because of it, she felt at peace and very contented to be around

him, as he was the same way with her. He didn't hold back much

and would flirt with her on occasion, teasing her about her

appearance or making fun of himself, but all in good humor. He

almost never got mad or angry, but if he did, he'd go outside and

work it off, rather than take it out on anybody. Since the Startica

festival, he never yelled or got mad at anybody, no matter what

happened. He'd calmly explain to her that he was upset over what

was done, and then he'd go outside to blow off his steam.

Knowing that, she'd go out and apologize to him, even if it wasn't

her fault, just to see him smile and make him feel more

comfortable.

Looking at him sitting on his limb, she knew that he felt

more at ease around her since she had stopped chasing him.

Remembering her conversation with her mother, her advice

seemed to be working. He didn't run away from her ever since

Christmas Day, and he was even more open with her than he ever

used to be. He told her about several secrets that he kept buried

and rarely talked about, like his parents' death and his lack of

family. After finally cracking open his safe of secrets, he finally

revealed to her that he was lonely and had missed Laurie deeply,

and that he still wasn't over her, even after so many years.

Whenever he'd get on that subject, she'd listen quietly and comfort

him, and she felt so close to him that it almost didn't matter that

they weren't an actual couple. She could feel that it was only a

matter of time before he'd open himself up once again and accept

the love of another, but she hoped it would be soon.

"He hasn't come out of that tree since he got up there this

morning," Sasami said quietly, sharing the tranquility with her

sister. "I know he's troubled by something, but I don't know

what."

Aeka nodded her head. "Yeah, and it is making me

worried too. He's been meditating for a long time, but I don't have

the slightest idea what could be running through his mind."

"What if we invite him to do karaoke or something?" she

asked, stroking Ryo-Ohki, who was sleeping soundly on her lap,

purring quietly.

Sighing again, she shook her head. "I don't think he'd

want to. He has a lot of things to sort through and think about right

now, and I think the best thing we can do for him is to leave him

alone. He's been a lot of fun and he has done far more for us than

anybody has ever done, never asking for anything in return, and I

think the least we can do is leave him alone for now."

Sasami's face became downcast as she looked at Ryo-

Ohki, still gently stroking her soft fur. "I know, but I miss having

him play with me."

Turning toward her, Aeka nodded her head. "Me too."

"Where are Tenchi and Ryoko?" Sasami asked, changing

the subject. "I haven't really seen them much today. What have

they been doing?"

Her face becoming thoughtful, she shrugged her

shoulders. "I don't know. I think they're out weeding the carrot

patch or out by the shrine."

Upon hearing the word carrot, Ryo-Ohki woke up out of

her quiet doze and looked up at Aeka, questioning her with a

meow.

Aeka smiled and patted her on the head. "Do you know

where Ryoko is, Ryo-Ohki?"

The cabbit closed its eyes for a moment, and then

meowed once, lifting her paw to point to the training ground.

Giggling quietly, Sasami patted the little animal and

stroked her back. "So they're training together," she mumbled

quietly, looking off toward the area near the top of the mountain

where Tenchi regularly sparred with is grandfather. It was too

high up to really see anything, as the trees were very full and thick

with leaves, and the wind was brisk enough to muffle any sounds

that would've come from a confrontation up there. Her eyes

wandered back to Russ, who still hadn't moved from his seat in the

tree. She smiled and started giggling.

"What's so funny, Sasami?" Aeka asked, looking over at

her sister.

"I was just thinking about how that tree supports him. He

has gotten far heavier since he first arrived. Wasn't he like around

two hundred twenty two pounds originally, and the last time he

told me his weight, he said he was around two hundred ninety

pounds. I'm surprised that branch hasn't cracked and made him

crash to the ground."

Smiling contentedly, she nodded her head. "He looks so

peaceful up in that tree. It's so crazy that he's so strong and

powerful and it's even more amazing how gentle he usually is."

Looking at her sister, Sasami started laughing again.

"MOST of the time. Do you realize that he's crushed more than

ten playstation controllers?"

Aeka started laughing along with her sister. "That's

because he can't stand losing to you."

"It's always fun how he tackles me after I beat him. He's

so much fun to be around, and I hope he stays here forever with us.

I'd be so upset if he ever left."

Both princesses fell silent, considering the possibility that

after his mission was complete, what his next move would be.

Would he leave, or would he remain here? They didn't know, but

they both strongly wanted him to stay more than anything,

really. He was the greatest thing that ever happened to both of

them, and they both didn't want to give him up. Ever. They were

both to the point of even telling all of their parents to kiss off if it

meant staying with him. However, Russ didn't know how deep

their feelings for him had gone.

"We shouldn't worry about that, Sasami. I think he wants

to stay with us as well. We're the best company he's had in a very

long time, and I don't think he'd be very quick to give it up. He's

stubborn like that, you know," Aeka said, smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. But anyway," she said, gently

moving Ryo-Ohki off of her lap and standing up, lazily stretching

her arms over her head. "I'm going to go get Russ a glass of

lemonade. I'm sure he's thirsty and probably hungry too. He

never came in to eat today at all."

Aeka stood up too, mimicking her sister with her

stretching, causing her bracelets to slide down her arm, tinkling up

against each other. "I'll make him a sandwich for you to take to

him as well. I hope he tells us why he's so concerned."

"I think he will today. But we'll have to wait and see,"

Sasami said, sliding back the door and stepping into the house,

which was uncomfortably warm. "Whew, it's hot in here."

"Yeah. But it isn't as bad as it was last year. Remember

those hundred-degree days we had? That was unbearable."

Sasami and Aeka both made their way to the kitchen,

passing through the living room. Nobuyuki was seated on the

couch, silently reading his newspaper. He didn't look up from the

two who intruded into the living room, but kept reading, as

whatever was in the paper had kept his attention for quite a while

already.

Reaching the kitchen, Sasami went to the refrigerator to

get the lemonade, and Aeka went into the pantry closet to get the

jar of peanut butter, and afterwards, went to the fridge to get the

butter and jam.

Aeka looked at the ingredients and smiled. "This stuff is

so simple but he loves it. I've never seen someone eat as much

peanut butter as him."

Nodding in agreement, Sasami reached into the cupboard

and produced a tall glass. She went back to the fridge to get a tray

of ice while Aeka took a small plate from an adjacent cupboard

and set about making a sandwich.

Grunting while twisting the ice tray from side to side, two

ice cubes came flying out of the tray once they broke free and

landed on the floor. Sasami reached down and picked up the two

rogue cubes and tossed them into the sink, then filled the glass to

the top with all the ice cubes she could fit into it.

After buttering four slices of wheat bread, Aeka then

spread the peanut butter on two of the pieces, very thickly, and

after cleaning off the butter knife, she dumped a decent amount of

strawberry jam onto the peanut butter, and then put the other piece

of bread on the top. Afterwards, she sliced both sandwiches in

half, and placed them all on the plate. Sasami poured the

lemonade over the ice in the glass, causing the ice to crack and pop

from the drastic temperature change.

"Here you go, Sasami," Aeka said, handing over the plate.

"Even though this is only a light snack to him, it should make him

a little happier."

"Mmmm, yes. Why not come out with me?" she

questioned, looking out the window and then at her sister.

"Even though I don't pry anymore, he'd probably feel

uneasy with me going out there like that. He'd expect it from you

and me, but he'd probably feel more comfortable talking about it

with you."

"Don't be silly, Aeka. It doesn't matter who it comes

from, does it?"

Aeka thought a moment. "Maybe not, but anyway, don't

you dare tell him I made the sandwiches, okay? He still thinks that

everything I make is toxic, and I don't want to scare him away

with my food."

Sasami giggled quietly and nodded her head. "I'll tell

him after he finishes it."

"Okay. I'm going to go water my garden now. It's been

a couple days since it has rained and the plants could use a nice

drink," she said, heading toward the back door, putting on a pair of

gardening gloves she kept on a shelf that was on her way out. The

door clicked shut after she walked though it.

Sasami went back through the living room, glancing at

Nobuyuki who was still reading his paper, and she went outside,

being careful to close the door behind her. Lifting off into the air,

she slowly flew over to Russ's tree and came up behind him.

"Hey, Sasami. What's going on?" he asked, without even

seeing her.

"I love how you do that," she said, coming around the

tree. "I brought you some food since you missed dinner, and a

cold lemonade."

Russ smiled at her and nodded his head. "Thank you very

much. That was very thoughtful of you," he said, as he began to

devour the sandwiches. He stole a few drinks from the lemonade

in between bites.

"You should thank Aeka too, since she was the one who

made the sandwiches."

Russ stopped chewing for a moment, giving Sasami a

worried look, but he smiled and continued eating a moment later.

After swallowing a large chunk, he let out a small burp. "Not bad.

You sure your sister made these? They don't taste funny or

anything," he teased, watching Sasami's face become cross. "I'm

only kidding."

Smiling now, Sasami sat down on a nearby branch,

watching Russ eat at a normal, human pace. "You've been up here

for quite a few days now, and you haven't been very social either.

Is something bothering you?"

"Am I that transparent?" he asked, after swallowing

another bite. "Yes, something is bothering me and has me worried,

but I don't want to worry you guys about it."

"Could you at least tell me what is wrong?" she asked,

swinging her legs back and forth.

Shoving another chunk of PP&J into his mouth, he took

his time eating it and swallowed, then washed it down with more

lemonade. Sighing to himself, he looked over at her, and nodded

his head. "I think you already know what I'm worried about, but

it's about Zorpheus. I meditate for a long time to mentally prepare

myself for battle. I'm worried about what he might do, but I'm

excited about the prospect of combat again."

"You're excited?" she questioned, surprised at his

revelation.

Russ nodded. "Yes. Saiyans are a warrior race, as I've

told you before. We were born to do battle and to fight. It's one

thing that gives us a tremendous amount of joy and satisfaction,"

he explained, taking a quick sip of his drink again. "But lately,

I've found joy in something else, but the idea of fighting again is

very exciting to me. I don't expect you to understand since it isn't

your nature or how you were brought up, but that is the way it is

with me and even Zorpheus."

Nodding her head, she smiled. "What is that other thing

you find joy in?"

Russ was about to take another bite out of his sandwich

but froze in surprise instead. His face began to turn red, and

Sasami could see a few beads of sweat appear on his forehead.

Tilting her head to the side, she smiled, then started giggling,

getting a pretty good idea of what was going through his mind.

"It wouldn't happen to have to do with my sister now,

would it?" she teased.

His face growing redder by the minute, he swallowed his

bite in a deliberately loud gulp and filled his mouth with lemonade

again, draining over half the remaining liquid. "If I tell you the

truth, will you keep it a secret?"

She nodded her head and smiled, kicking her feet back

and forth. "Yes."

If Russ's face could've gone any redder, it would have.

"Yes, it has to do with your sister."

"You like her?"

Russ paused, then let out a huge breath. "Yes. Yes I do."

Sasami's face lit up as bright as the sun. "I knew it! I

knew it!" she sang, giggling the whole while. "You've got a big

crush on her."

"Cut that out!" Russ pleaded, looking away shyly. "Don't

tease me about that."

Sasami continued to smile widely as she looked at Russ's

far off grin. "Then how come you won't go out with her or go

steady?"

The grin on Russ's face melted away and became

downcast. "I can't."

"But, why not? You're both single, you're both free, and

you're definitely both attracted to each other, so why not?" Sasami

asked, looking concerned.

"It's a long story." Russ shoved the last of the sandwich

into his mouth and swallowed it, then washed it down with more

lemonade.

"Could you give me the short version?" she asked, sliding

a little closer to Russ.

Sighing quietly, Russ turned toward her again, looking on

her with lonely eyes. "Only Aeka knows about it right now, but I

almost had a girlfriend a few years ago. We were good friends for

over a year, in much the same way it is between your sister and

myself. But something happened and she was killed, ironically,

one day after we agreed to go steady. I tried to help her, but I was

outnumbered and she died. I never want to feel that kind of pain

again, so I distanced myself from all women, never allowing

myself to become attracted to another. However, your sister is

similar to my former girlfriend, but I don't want anything to

happen to her, so I won't become involved with her. I'm too

dangerous to be around."

"That's not true! You've lived with us for almost a year

now and every problem that has ever arisen, you've conquered

easily. You overcame Kain, my parents, and any other obstacle.

Why can't you date with my sister and make her the happiest

person alive? She really wants to be with you for the rest of her

life, and I want to see her with you too. You're my big brother and

I don't want to see you go."

Feeling a growing lump in his throat, Russ shook his

head. "I know how it feels. You guys became attached to me, but

when the time comes, I may have to leave. I originally only came

back here to do what I did with the Dragonballs, and face

Zorpheus. Once that was done, I was going to leave."

"NO!!!" she shouted, looking like someone jammed a

knife in her back. "You can't!"

Russ looked at her, feeling a great many emotions boiling

in his gut and in his mind. "I didn't say I was definitely going to

leave, but that was a part of my original plan. Plans change and

people change. I kind of felt that you and your sister wouldn't

want me to go, since I thought that I've been a good friend to you

guys. I did my best to make you and your sister happy and

carefree, but I didn't want to become involved in any kind of

relationship when I saw her. She was very emotional and unhappy

when I first met her, and I felt sorry for her, so I befriended her and

you. But I swore to myself that I wouldn't become attracted to her

or ask her out. All I wanted was friendship, but your sister wants

more, but I can't give it to her, and it hurts to tell her no."

"Then stop telling her no!" she cried, crushing the branch

in her hands. "You can go out with her if you want to. Even my

mother wants to see her become involved with you! That's

extremely rare, and it's even more rare when she fights with father

over it."

"I know, Sasami. That's the other thing I've been

thinking about since I've been up here," he said, finishing off the

last of the lemonade and letting out a small burp. "Everybody is

all for it, but all of you fail to realize what it could mean to your

safety. It is true that I'm very, very strong, but there are still others

out there that are stronger. Strong people who are warriors tend to

attract trouble wherever they go. Trouble is already on its way

here in the form of Zorpheus, and I don't want you people having

anything to do with it. I'd go insane if any of you got hurt."

"But that's our choice!" she argued. "It's up to us if we

want to stand by your side."

Russ smiled. "But that's what I want to avoid. You may

want to help, but you'd be a liability. I can't have that while I'm in

a fight. Someone could threaten to harm you or hold you hostage,

and that person would be able to force me to do whatever he or she

wanted, because they know I couldn't let anything happen to you.

I know you guys are strong, but you people can't defend

yourselves up against villains that I fight with," he calmly

explained. "I know it sounds like a lame excuse, but it is for your

own good and mine as well."

Sasami shook her head, becoming more worried by the

minute. "We don't care about that! We"

"I know you don't care," Russ interrupted. "But I do. I

will not let you guys come into harms way, and the only way I can

figure on doing that is to not be a part of your family. It sounds

very weird and selfish, but I know that's the way it has to be."

Again, the princess shook her head. "No, no, no! Please,

Russ, you have to"

"Enough," he interrupted again. "I'm very sorry to

disappoint you, Sasami, but I cannot, and I'm inflexible about it.

Right now, I have some very important things to worry about. I've

developed a new technique and I've been working on a way to

make it work right. I've just about got it figured out, and just in

time too. Zorpheus arrives tomorrow."

Stopping herself and looking horrorstruck, her pink eyes

bored into Russ's. "What?"

Nodding his head and rubbing his temples with his free

hand, he said what she feared the most. "Yes, he will be here

tomorrow."

She fell deathly silent and her face spilled over with

worry. "What's going to happen?"

"I don't know. I plan on getting him into that special

room and having us beat the living hell out of each other, but I

don't know what frame of mind he'll be in tomorrow. Usually,

he'll listen to me calmly, but he may still get upset over my

destroying his dream of immorality. Playing with immortality is

something I don't do nor let anybody else screw with. In my

opinion, it is the root of all evil. It can turn good people bad, like it

did with Zorpheus. He really didn't become bad or evil in the

villainous sense, but he became very obsessive and we went our

separate ways," he described, remembering how pissed off he felt

at what Zorpheus was becoming. "But anyway, once we get in that

room, everything should be fine. Before he became obsessed with

immortality, he was a great friend. He had a sarcastic sense of

humor about him, but he was very funny. He was a little more

dare devilish than me, and loved drawing attention to himself.

Being a nutcase and having a good time were some of the best

qualities about him. I do miss him, but I'm very nervous about

seeing him again tomorrow."

"I hope he doesn't do anything drastic. Are you two

really going to fight?"

"Not very likely, but possible. If all goes well, he'll just

give up on it. For the most part, he was pretty easy going and

wouldn't mind if something went belly up. He'd just laugh it off

and come up with a new obsession. But no obsession ever went as

deep as this one. If we do fight, one of us may even die if it gets

too out of hand," he said, watching Sasami's face go from horrified

to absolute terror.

"NO!!! You can't lose! You CAN'T die! What will we

do if you die? We'll never see you again!" she cried, sniffling,

letting the tears drip out of the corners of her pink eyes and run

down her freckled cheeks, to drip off of the bottom of her chin to

the ground below. "I won't let you!" She leapt off her branch and

flew at Russ, burying her face in Russ's purple karate ki, her body

wracked with sobs. She continually repeated to herself, "Don't

die!"

Russ held her tightly. "I won't die, Sasami. Just hope for

the best, okay? But once we go into that room, I want you guys to

stay out of it until it is over. If Zorpheus tries to start something

out here tomorrow, run as far away from here as you can. I won't

have you hurt over something that is my fault."

"No! I won't! I want to stay with you!" she cried,

hugging him more tightly.

Russ slowly closed his eyes, and then reopened them,

breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sasami. It makes me feel

really good to hear you say that. Even though you're faced with

impossible odds, you still want to be with me, and I know your

sister would be as well, but I can't have you with me. It's too

dangerous. I know you don't understand that, but I cannot have

you with me tomorrow. It is something that I have to do alone.

I'm the only one who can."

Russ wasn't sure if Sasami heard him or not, but she

remained like that for a long time afterward. After she finally

stopped crying, she rested her head against Russ's shoulder and

dozed off, worn out from the day's activities and the worry that

Russ had put her through. He felt bad about doing it, but he

decided it was better to be truthful rather than let her see a bunch

of surprises tomorrow. 'Knowing what to expect was better than

being surprised in circumstances like this one,' he always said.

Continuing to hold her close, despite the very warm air,

he felt very comfortable, secure, and happy having her with him.

It felt good to have another close to him, and he did feel that she

was his little sister and it was his job to protect her. He made a

silent vow to himself, swearing that he'd vanquish his enemy, and

if all went well, he would ask Aeka to go steady with him. It was

about time to move on, and even though he just finished telling

Sasami that he'd never do it, he did feel very good when he was

around both Aeka and Sasami, and he wanted that feeling for the

rest of his life. They were the ones to do it for him, and he felt

good about it.

"What am I thinking?" he suddenly said to himself, aloud,

changing his mind again in a heartbeat. "I must be insane." He

looked down at the sleeping princess, smiled, and shook his head.

"I can't do it. Yes, Sasami, I'd be willing to spend the rest of my

life with you and your sister, but I can't, even though you two are

the most perfect things to happen in my life. I'd love to have fun

with you every day, and I will, but only as your friend."

Closing his own eyes, he too drifted into a half sleep,

keeping himself and Sasami balanced on the branch, wasting the

passage of time.

"Russ?" Sasami whispered, snuggling a little closer to the

saiyan, after about a half hour of sleep.

He glanced down at her peaceful form and smiled. "What

is it, Sasami?" he asked quietly.

"Promise me you won't die tomorrow," she whimpered,

looking into Russ's visage. "Promise me that you'll survive."

Reaching up and rubbing her arm gently, he nodded his

head. "I promise."

Letting out a sigh of relief, she smiled and hugged Russ,

feeling very safe and secure next to him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he whispered.

"Come on, Tenchi! I thought you improved since fighting

with Russ!" Ryoko taunted, rapidly punching and kicking toward

her fiance. Most of her offense was being blocked and dodged,

but a few punches and kicks found their way through his defenses.

Growling quietly to himself, Tenchi continued to block

her vicious offense, doing his best to stand his ground. "I have

gotten better, and you know I'm holding back right now. If I used

the lighthawk wings, you wouldn't stand a chance!" he yelled

back, flipping backwards. He landed on his feet and sprinted

forward, leapt into the air, and tried to behead the space pirate.

However, he missed as she ducked under it. Landing on his feet,

he put up his defensive stance and waited for her next move.

"I still think you're a pushover, Tenchi," she teased,

baring her fangs in an evil grin. "Show me how much of a MAN

you've become!" Racing forward, she held her wooden bokken

high but swung it at Tenchi's ribcage. Wood met wood as his own

bokken blocked her shot, causing a loud crack to echo around the

trees and surrounding area.

"Don't just stand there, boy! Attack her!" Katsuhito

ordered, who was watching the event unfold before him. He had

been watching them for the past hour or so, and he could see a vast

improvement in Tenchi's abilities since he started using his energy.

But even though his body was ready for the next step, his mind

wasn't fast enough.

"I'm doing the best I can, grandpa!" he yelled, but he

was cut short as Ryoko kicked him from behind, causing him to

skid across the grounds. He leapt back to his feet almost

immediately, but he was too far away from Ryoko to mount an

attack.

Ryoko looked at his clothes, which were now covered in

grass stains, and she started laughing, pointing at his shirt.

"Yeah, yeah. Jolly Green Giant now, is that it?" Tenchi

muttered, glaring at both Ryoko and Katsuhito. "If you didn't

distract me, she wouldn't have gotten that shot in," he growled.

"You must be prepared for everything, Tenchi," Katsuhito

returned. "You must learn to pay attention to everything around

you. You cannot focus on just one thing. You'll lose if you do."

Tenchi rolled his eyes. "How often am I going to be

fighting with someone while you're giving advice to me?" he

argued, but he was cut short as Ryoko snuck up behind him and

clubbed him over the head with her bokken.

"Pay attention, Tenchi!" she yelled, growing irritated.

"You have a one track mind."

"You're all picking on me," Tenchi snarled, swinging his

own sword at Ryoko, who teleported away. Looking above him,

he saw her floating casually, her hair being whipped around from

the wind, and she almost looked like a tigress, ready to pounce on

her prey. "Yeah, THAT's real fair, Ryoko."

"Quit your whining, boy!" Katsuhito snapped, getting to

his feet. "I think you've had enough training for one day. We'll

continue tomorrow."

Wiping the perspiration off of his brow, Tenchi sat down

on the ground, breathing heavily. "Oh man, what a day," he

mumbled to himself.

Ryoko returned to the ground and sat next to Tenchi, and

she kissed the bump that she caused on his head. "Sorry about

that, but you weren't paying attention."

Wincing in pain, he ducked out from under her affection.

"You and grandpa are two of a kind. You both love distracting me

and then pounding me afterwards. It's getting annoying."

"Tenchi, listen. We only do that to make you improve.

Once you finally start overcoming that obstacle, we'll move on to

your next weak point and improve that too," Ryoko explained,

gently rubbing Tenchi's head with her right hand. "But you're too

easily distracted and you only pay attention to one thing at a time.

You need to learn how to focus on everything in your

surroundings."

Sighing quietly to himself, he hung his head. "I'm sorry

for yelling at you. I guess I'm just a little tired. I haven't slept

very well over the last couple of nights for some weird reason."

"Would you like to go to the mall or something? I think

you need to take your mind off of your troubles and relax for a

while," Ryoko suggested.

Tenchi shook his head. "Sorry, Ryoko, but I have to do

laundry today. Kiyone and Mihoshi will be coming over tomorrow

too, and I have to clean the bath. I'm just too busy to relax right

now."

"Aw, but Tenchi! You need a break too. You're going to

wear yourself out if you keep this up. It'll only be for a couple

hours. What harm is there in that?" Ryoko begged, giving him her

best pitiful look.

"Come on, Ryoko. These things won't get done on their

own." Tenchi grunted as he got to his feet, rubbing his sore calves.

Sighing quietly to herself, she floated dejectedly next to

Tenchi as he made his way down the shrine steps. "If I help you

get done faster, then will you go with me to the mall?"

"Aw man," Tenchi muttered under his breath. "Yeah, I'll

go," he said, but not sounding enthusiastic about it at all.

Now smiling, Ryoko hugged Tenchi. "Thank you,

sweetie. One of these days you and I are going to have to go on a

trip together. You know, just the two of us. There are many

wonders out there in the universe, and I'd like to show you some of

them, if you'd let me. It would be very romantic and fun. You did

say you'd go with me, Tenchi."

Tenchi didn't seem to be paying attention to her as he

made his way down to the last step and onto the walkway to the

house. "Maybe one day we will," he finally said. "But I don't

know when."

"What about now?" she said, appearing in front of him,

looking dead serious.

"Ryoko! Don't be ridiculous. I have school to attend,

things to do around here, and practice with Grandpa. I just don't

have the time right now. I have too many responsibilities around

here already," Tenchi growled, getting irritated.

"Don't you want to go with me though?" she asked,

clasping her hands together in front of herself. "Is there another

reason you won't go? Is it me?"

"What?! Whatever gave you that idea?" Tenchi said,

looking very annoyed and surprised.

"It's just oh, I don't know," she finally mumbled, and

she hung her head. "I'm sorry, Tenchi."

Sighing to himself again, he shook his head. "Come on,

Ryoko," he said, lifting her face gently with his hand and smiling.

"Let's do the laundry and then I'll see if dad will let me borrow the

van so we can go shopping. Okay?"

Her visage brightened up a bit. "Okay, Tenchi. But we

better hurry. The mall closes at nine, and it's already six."

"We'll have plenty of time if you help me with that stuff."

Thinking to herself for a moment, she came up with an

idea. "Why don't we just have Russ do it? He hasn't done much

of anything around here."

"Yeah right," he retorted. "He cuts the grass every

weekend, cleans the shrine steps, cooks, and does a variety of other

things around the house. He's far more ambitious than even I am,

and the only reason it looks like he doesn't do anything is because

he's so fast. What would take me an hour only takes him five

minutes. But right now, something is wrong with him, and I think

we should leave him alone. Besides, I can't have him bare all the

responsibilities around the house."

"Why not? He EATS more than all of us combined!"

Ryoko countered, landing on the ground in Tenchi's way. "He's

the most expensive stomach here!"

Scratching his head, he looked over toward the lake and

saw Russ and Sasami in the tree, leaning together, snoozing.

"That's true, but for some very weird reason, he actually pays for

some stuff around here. I don't know where he has been getting

the money, but it isn't like he doesn't help out financially. Maybe

it was an inheritance from his parents or something. Besides, I

wouldn't want to disturb him right now. He looks so peaceful up

there in that tree with Sasami."

Ryoko also looked toward the tree, watching the twosome

nap together. "Yeah, they do look cute, don't they?"

"Come on," Tenchi said, taking her by the hand. "Lets go

to the mall first. The laundry can wait until we get home, okay?

But you'll have to help me with it."

Instantly wrapping her arms around Tenchi, she giggled

happily. "Thank you, Tenchi. Let's go right now."

Entering the living room through the sliding glass door,

Tenchi spied his father on the couch, his nose still in his

newspaper. He didn't even notice when Tenchi called his name.

"Dad!" Tenchi said, making his voice quite loud.

"Ack! Oh, what is it, Tenchi?" Nobuyuki asked, peering

over his paper, finally noticing his son and soon-to-be daughter in

law.

"May I borrow the van to go to the mall? Ryoko and I

would like to go shopping together," he requested, folding his

hands behind his back. The space pirate smiled too, resting her

chin on Tenchi's shoulder.

"Did you do the laundry yet?" he asked, digging into his

pocket.

Tenchi shook his head. "Not yet, but I'll be sure and do it

when I get back, if that is okay."

"Sure. Just make sure you don't forget. I need some

fresh clothes for tomorrow," he said, tossing the keys over to

Tenchi, but he missed and they fell on the floor.

"Thanks dad," he said, kneeling down to pick up the keys.

"We'll be back in a couple hours."

"Have a good time!" he called after them, as they went

outside.

Ryoko held onto his arm as they both made their way to

the van. "Your father is so nice," she said, feeling the muscles in

Tenchi's arm.

Nodding his head in agreement, he unlocked the door at

the same moment Aeka came around the house. She was about to

wind up the hose, but she saw the two of them out of the corner of

her eye. She smiled and waved.

"Where are you guys heading off to?" she called, making

her way over to them.

"We were going to go to the mall. I'm bored and Tenchi

is tired, so it's just something for us to do and relax for a while.

Want to come?" Ryoko invited.

Smiling, but shaking her head, she politely declined.

"Thanks for the offer, but no. You two have a nice time and relax.

Especially you, Tenchi," she said, looking seriously at him.

"You've been working quite hard and I can tell you're getting

fatigued. Have fun, I demand it."

"Yes ma'am," Tenchi responded, smiling. Ryoko looked

at Aeka a little strangely, but she smiled and got into the passenger

seat. Tenchi closed the door for her and went around to the other

side and got in. Putting the key into the ignition, the van started up

and he put it into gear, rolling away from the crown princess.

They both waved to her, and Tenchi pulled onto the road, heading

to the mall.

Ryoko looked out of the rear view mirror at Aeka, who

turned and went back to the hose. "She seems to be back to her

normal self, but I think something is bothering her. But what's up

with Russ? He's been meditating for almost a week now."

"You noticed it too? It's been really quiet for the past

week. I was used to the loud crashes and constant noise from him,

but lately, it's almost been too quiet. It is very unusual to see him

meditate like that. I have no idea what it could be. But it's making

me nervous."

"Me too. I've never seen a person concentrate like that in

my life. It almost scares me more with him being the way he is

now rather than showing us his incredible strength."

Tenchi reached over to the radio and turned it on, finding

the band set to AM. "Ugh, there is never anything on AM besides

talk shows and news," he said, flipping it over to FM and tuning it

to a station that played anime songs with various other hits done by

the vocal artists. "That's better."

Ryoko continued to look out the window at the passing

countryside. "Something is going to happen. There has to be a

reason Russ is meditating like that," she mumbled to herself.

"I think so too, Ryoko, but he won't tell us what. I hate it

when he does that. It's almost like he likes teasing us with his

secrets," Tenchi said, rolling down his window and resting his

right arm over the ledge. "But anyway, it has been very peaceful

and tranquil around the house for quite a while. I believe this is

the longest it has gone without some sort of confrontation."

"You think it is about time for another one?"

Nodding his head, Tenchi glanced over at Ryoko. "Yeah.

Actually, I do. I have a feeling that something is going to happen,

and Russ is getting ready for it too. You don't suppose" Tenchi

trailed off, his face becoming fearful. "You don't suppose that it

has to do with Zorpheus's arrival?"

Sharing a moment of the same thought, Tenchi looked

back toward the road and became very quiet, and Ryoko did too.

Neither said another word until they reached the mall.

"No, Akaki, that's not how it works! No wonder it

exploded!" Washu scolded over her phantom laptop, looking at

charred remains of what used to be a plasma injector. "Who taught

you how to handle equipment like that? You should know finger

oils cause major mishaps! Those devices are worse than halogen

bulbs here on Earth! You're not supposed to touch them!"

Akaki looked back at his invention and then back at his

mother, but then started laughing. "I'm sorry, mom. I didn't

know. Nobody tells me much of anything, so I have to learn it all

the hard way."

"You should've called me first, rather than after the fact,"

she continued. "How much did that thing cost you?"

"Not much, actually. They're pretty cheap on this planet.

I'll have to go buy a replacement, but it isn't that big of a deal," he

said, wheeling away from the monitor to a table nearby, which had

an elaborate electronic device with many blinking lights, a set of

tank treads for mobility, and had a variety of probes sticking out of

it. He pressed a button on the side, and the lights went out.

Washu leaned back in her cushion, placing her hand to

her forehead. "I'm getting too old for this stuff," she mumbled.

Reaching into her lab coat pocket, she withdrew a pen and started

drawing on a piece of paper that was on her desk next to her

computer. "Give me a few minutes and I'll draw up a quick plan

to show you how to connect it up, okay?"

"Mom, you don't have to" Akaki began, but was

interrupted by one of his associates.

Narrowing her eyes at the young lady who was discussing

something with him, she turned up the volume of her computer,

trying to make out what they said to each other. At the same

moment, Akaki turned toward the camera, narrowed his own eyes,

and then muted the microphone. After which, he shook his index

finger back and forth, knowing what his mom was doing.

Looking into her own camera with a look of shock and

surprise, she folded her arms over her chest and looked away,

embarrassed that she was caught eavesdropping. Glancing over at

the plans she started, she immediately resumed drawing them,

patiently waiting for her son to finish.

"What do you think you're doing, mom? That's so rude,"

Akaki growled, turning his microphone back on. His voice blared

over Washu's sound system, as she had forgotten to return the

volume to normal.

Startled by the sudden loud noise, her pen went straight

across her paper, putting a nice, curved line right through her

plans. Veins started protruding from her forehead while she turned

back toward her computer, an evil, psychotic look on her face.

"I'm going to turn you into a water sprite!" she yelled, hitting a

variety of keys in rapid succession, trying to target her son. "How

could you do that to me!"

Typing as fast as his hands could go, Akaki put up a

personal forcefield just before Washu's scanners acquired a lock.

"It's not MY fault you tried eavesdropping on me!" he yelled,

glaring at his mother. "It was a private conversation, so there!"

Her computer had the words, 'Target Unattainable'

written on the screen, as the targeting scanners lost the subject.

"You're pretty good. You're definitely my son," Washu said,

proudly.

Akaki breathed a sigh of relief. "That's the second time

you've tried to do that to me, mom. What's with you and water

sprites anyway?"

Chuckling quietly to herself, she remembered the first

time she turned both Ryoko and Aeka into water sprites. It was

absolutely hilarious, as they both waddled around, resembling

penguins on Earth. Sasami and Mihoshi both found the little

creatures completely adorable, so Washu made it a point to turn

both Aeka and Ryoko into the little animals whenever their

behavior got completely out of hand. However, as of late, she

hadn't turned either one of them into a water sprite, and she was

getting a little anxious to do it again. She tried to do it to Russ, but

he didn't take to it well and was very angry toward her for even

suggesting it. Of course, she was being rude at the time and she

knew it, so she backed off. She wasn't interested in rebuilding her

phantom laptop.

"Well mom, I guess that's about it for today, unless you

can think of something else you'd like to talk about," Akaki said,

resting in his seat.

Washu smiled. "I'm very happy you keep in touch so

frequently," she said, taking off her glasses and resting them on her

desk. Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on the table and put

her chin in the palms of her hands. "Who was that girl, anyway?"

she blurted out.

"She's my lab assistant," he explained, looking back

toward the door. "She's been working with me on the side for

quite a while. She's a brain, like you, and loves to tinker with new

inventions and stuff. I do this on the side, when I'm not at work.

It's just something to do besides clean the house every day and it

helps me learn more."

Washu grinned, the light from the computer screen

accentuating her facial features. "Only a lab assistant?" she

queried, getting a little closer to the screen.

Akaki squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "Yes."

Cackling evilly, Washu put her finger to the monitor.

"You may be very smart, but you're a terrible liar," she taunted.

"Who is she, really? I've seen her around ever since you called me

the first time, but I never bothered to ask."

"Just forget about it, mom," he returned, glaring at the

display.

"She's your girlfriend, is that it? What's wrong? Can't

introduce her to your old, dried up mother?" she teased.

Akaki's green eyes widened considerably. "No! That's

not it!"

"Then what is it, son?" she asked, not intending to back

off.

"Oh, forget it! I've got to go, mom," he said, reaching

behind him to lift a textbook that was on the table next to his robot.

Sticking out her tongue, Washu gave Akaki a raspberry.

"So she's your girlfriend. What's her name?" she asked, gently.

His face began to turn as red as a tomato. "Her name is

Yui. Satisfied?" he grumbled, glaring hard at his computer screen.

Of course, she wasn't. "Yui? That's a nice name. How

long have you two been together?"

"MOM!!! Stop prying!" he begged, wringing his hands in

front of him.

"I'm just trying to get to know a little bit about her, son.

There is no harm in that. It's just some simple questions," she

said, trying to get him to open up.

"You're impossible! We've been together for about a

year now. Okay? I bet you want to know her three sizes too!"

"Couldn't hurt," she said, keying a few commands to

archive the data. "I'll just set up an entry for her in my database

and"

"STOP THAT!!!!!" Akaki roared, looking petrified.

Washu looked at him, a slight smile on her lips. "What?

There's nothing unusual about keeping physical data on another

person."

"Would you cut that out!" he yelled, now fully

embarrassed and emotionally scarred. "You're killing me!"

"I guess I have to go over there and meet her for myself,

right, son?" she said, standing up. The camera followed her

movements and kept her centered on the screen.

Akaki looked like he was about to have a heart attack and

die. "NO!! Come on, mom!" he whined, looking like a little kid.

"What's the big deal?" Washu retorted, putting her hands

on her hips. "How come you don't want to talk about her? Every

boy wants to talk about their girlfriends 'n stuff."

"To their friends, yes, but not to their parents!" he

returned, looking like he was about to explode.

"This is definitely grounds for turning you into a water

sprite," she warned, holding a finger over a particular key. "I

guess this is a bad time to tell you that my computer has found a

back door to your forcefield and has acquired a lock."

"ALRIGHT!" he yelled. "You win. Sheesh, you're so

manipulative." Akaki sat back in his chair, defeated. "What do

you want to know about her?"

"Well, how did you guys meet?" Washu asked, sitting

down on her cushion again.

"Actually, we met at work. I was working on a project

that I was behind on, and the deadline for it was the next day, but I

had about two days worth of work to get finished. I asked for help,

and she answered my call. We both just clicked, and that project

was finished in only three hours. It was incredible, and she was

very nice and sweet. To be nice to her and return the favor, I

invited her out to lunch, and things picked up from there," Akaki

explained, smiling. "I couldn't believe how much alike we are.

We both enjoy the same hobbies, same music, same foods, same

activities, and we are both very intelligent. It is almost like finding

a soul mate. Frankly, I think I did with her."

Smiling widely, Washu nodded her head. "That's so

wonderful. So you two have been together for a year now?"

Akaki nodded. "Somewhere around there, yeah. She's

the perfect girl for me."

"I guess this is a bad time to say that I was bluffing about

acquiring a target lock on you," Washu said, tapping the key with

her finger.

Staring incredulously at her, he ground his teeth. "I hate

you," he snarled.

Washu laughed, and sat back. "Anyway, where is she

now?" the red haired super genius inquired.

"She's upstairs, working on her thesis for school. She had

a question to ask me, which is why she came down here," he

answered. "She's working on a new way of traveling through

space. It's supposed to be very, very fast."

Washu grinned. "She may have to give up on it."

Giving her a blank stare, he scratched his head. "Why?"

"Well, one of Russ's friends, Tom, has a ship that can

travel from Earth to Jurai in about twelve hours. Using that value,

it can travel from one side of this galaxy to the other in less than

four days for an estimate," Washu explained.

"That's impossible. No ship moves that fast."

Washu shook her head and put up a picture of the Gray

Wolf on the screen. "See this ship here?"

"What the hell kind of vessel is that? It looks like a big

triangle," he said, getting a perspective view of the Starwars

destroyer.

"It's from an Earth science fiction film called Starwars.

It's an imperial class star destroyer. It's about sixteen hundred

meters in length, but it can enter something called hyperspace. It's

a very weird form of faster-than-light travel, but it is incredibly

fast. What would take a week now takes less than half a day," she

explained.

"A ship that size can move that fast? How?"

"I don't know. I wasn't allowed access to that

information."

"You were ON that ship?" he asked, stunned.

Washu nodded her head. "Yes. We went to the Jurai

Startica Festival on it. Tom was nice enough to chauffeur all of us

there. It's wall-to-wall computers. You would've been in heaven

onboard that ship."

"What kind of power source did it have?"

"That was extremely intriguing. The ship is actually

powered by a small star controlled in a special containment area

with forcefields and specially designed walls. They're able to

artifically create a star and harness the energy from that star and

turn it into power. The vessel is horrendously complex, and

because of that, full of bugs and glitches. It's very new and so

advanced that they're literally pioneering that technology, and they

are not willing to share it yet."

His face a mask of complete awe, he became excited.

"What other specifications do you know about that ship?"

Grinning, Washu hit a few keys on her computer,

bringing up a list of specs that she was able to collect from the ship

itself and from Earth sources. "Well, aside from its mile-long

length, its hull is made of several meter thick durasteel plating,

capable of repelling nearly any kind of energy or explosive weapon

for a good span of time. But you'll probably never get there,

because the shields on that ship are insanely powerful. The Jurian

military couldn't dent that ship, even if they tried. It could

probably take on a small fleet and come out unscathed. It has a

compliment of sixty turbolaser turrets, which in fact aren't lasers at

all, but packets of super high-energy plasma. On top of that, it has

sixty ion cannons, capable of disrupting electrical systems on

opposing ships to render them defenseless. It has a crew capacity

of over thirty five thousand individuals, however, they're almost at

their maximum with only ten thousand because their crew quarters

are much different than the ones in the movie. The movie version

was actually a destroyer class combat vessel, and a massive crew

of that many was required. Anyway, it also has about forty-six

starfighters, a variety of transports and shuttles, and some other

wild bits and pieces of technology, including something called a

holodeck. It's more advanced than the holographic technology we

use, in the sense that everything appears real. It can even fool my

computer's scanners. That is called particle synthesis, and was

very new and advanced. And to top it off, that ship can cloak too."

Akaki listened intently, becoming more and more

interested. "Do you think that one day I can see that ship?"

"Maybe. Believe it or not, Tom has a small fleet of ships

already of various classes. He told me that other ships were in

construction, but they should be finished by now. He constructed a

Nebulon B Escort Frigate, a Victory class Star Destroyer, a

Blockade Runner or Corvette, a Dreadnought, a Strike Cruiser, a

Carrack Cruiser, a MC80a Mon Calamari Cruiser, and some other

ships. He's still working on another ship, called an Executor class

Super Star Destroyer, which is the biggest jalopy I've ever seen.

It's somewhere around seventeen point six kilometers in length, or

about eleven miles long. It's covered in turbolasers and it's

shielding is supposedly impenetrable. I always say that smaller,

more mobile ships is the way to go, but in his case, he'll fill that

entire ship with people and because of that, the size is necessary."

"My lord, that's insane. What is Jurai going to do about

it? You know how they get when they see a potential threat," he

said, worried.

"Everything is being built in secret. The only vessel that

has been seen so far is the Gray Wolf, which is his personal ship at

the moment. Jurai didn't really do anything about it because they

weren't able to get any definite readings on it. Tom was pretty

stupid though, because he staged a big furball with Russ, and the

rest of the ship got involved. Even though their weapons were

only in practice mode, the output of those weapons was enough to

make the Jurians worry. When the Jurians went up against Tom's

forces, their shields took a beating, and the output of the weapons

was so low that they barely maintained coherency. I've never seen

them at full power, but apparently they're so strong that they can

vaporize a decent sized asteroid in one shot, and a fleet of those

can lay waste to the surface of a planet in a short amount of time.

"Very impressive. You'll have to introduce me to him

sometime. But anyway, how is the rest of the family doing? You

never really talk about them much."

Sighing to herself, she reached behind herself to scratch

her back, and then rested her arm on the table next to her. "Well,

Ryoko and Tenchi are still together and are getting ready to be

married. The date for that is about a year away, so they still have

plenty of time to plan and prepare. Ryoko is very, very excited,

but Tenchi doesn't seem to be all that enthusiastic about it. He still

has a lot of responsibilities around the house and Ryoko still

doesn't understand them, and he hurts her feelings without even

realizing it. Poor girl," she said, looking at a photograph of her

daughter that was taken about a month ago. She looked so happy

and contented with Tenchi by her side. "She's always wanting to

do stuff with him, but because he's so busy, he really can't get

away and do what she'd like to do. Ryoko has come in here a

couple of times in a depressed mood, wondering why Tenchi won't

really do anything with her, even if she begs and pleads from time

to time. I try explaining it to her, but you know how children

behave," she said, winking at her son. "It's always in one ear and

out the other."

"Hey, present company accepted here," he said, pointing

to himself. "I won't be touching plasma injectors anymore, okay?

You've made your point."

"Good. But anyway, she seems to be accepting it a little

more, but she still gets her feelings hurt. She gets bored at times

and actually goes to do things with Aeka and Russ to pass the time

away. I've talked to Tenchi about it, but he's worse than she is

with letting things go right over his head. Sometimes I wonder

why I waste my time."

"Because you're a good parent and a wonderful mother,"

Akaki said, grinning.

"Flattery will not get you anywhere with me, young

man," she said, and then laughed. "But thanks. I just wish Tenchi

wasn't so uptight about everything. If he was more like Russ, he

might enjoy life a bit more."

"Are Russ and Aeka a couple yet?" he asked, curious.

Shaking her head, Washu sighed. "No. I've never seen

someone as stubborn as Russ before. Once his mind is made up,

that's it. There is no changing it, no matter what the circumstance,

especially when it comes to relationships. It's crazy. I swear, he

must be castrated or something."

Akaki exploded laughing, leaning forward and putting his

head on the desk, trying to catch his breath. "Anal retentive to the

max, right mom?"

Now it was Washu's turn to laugh. "I don't know what it

is, but he just will NOT go out with Aeka or any other girl. I don't

know why," Washu said, rubbing her eyes. "But in reality, he has

gotten closer to her on a personal level. Aeka told me that she

talked to her mother about it, and that her mother's suggestion was

to stop chasing him. Thing is, it worked. I wasn't sure if it would

or not. There are just too many variables to determine the outcome

of love. Anyway, Russ and Sasami are like big brother and little

sister. They stick together like glue and always support each other.

They look so adorable and cute when they doze off outside under a

tree or something. I think I have a few pictures here," Washu said,

opening her archive and finding multiple images. She loaded one

for Akaki to see, where Russ and Sasami were leaning together

underneath Russ's tree, sleeping soundly. They were both dressed

in overalls, and they both almost looked like farmers after a hard

day of work.

Chuckling quietly to himself, Akaki nodded his head.

"Yeah, that IS cute," he said. "How are Kiyone and Mihoshi? Are

they still going crazy with their jobs?"

"No. The Galaxy Police have been providing them with

funding for living expenses, so there really hasn't been a need for

them to work any odd jobs. However, Kiyone still works, just to

keep herself busy. She is one of those people who refuse to take a

break," Washu said, looking toward the ceiling of her lab.

"Just like you, right?"

Smiling warmly, she nodded her head. "Yeah, like me."

Looking at her with a bit of concern, Akaki shifted

positions in his chair, trying to get more comfortable. "When was

the last time you've taken a break or done something fun?"

"Whew, I think that was way back during the Startica

festival. That's the only vacation I've had in a long time. It felt

good," she answered.

"Mom! You're going to wear yourself out. You should

get out a little more. Actually go out and see some sunlight from

time to time. You're becoming a hermit in that lab of yours," he

encouraged, grinning. "I'm surprised you even leave your lab to

go eat something."

Blushing slightly, she turned away. "Most of the time I

even miss meals."

Akaki shook his head. "That's terrible. Do you plan on

taking any vacations in the future?"

"No, not really. I've got so many experiments to work on

that I just don't have the time."

"Yeah right. You're not on any kind of deadline except

your own. Give yourself a break and go out and do something for

a change. You're going to become unsociable from not talking

with people frequently enough," he argued, worried for his mom.

Letting a small smile creep onto her lips, she came up

with an idea. "Well, what do you suggest I do for a vacation?"

"Well, how about coming to visit me?" he asked, smiling.

"I'd love that," she answered, as that was the suggestion

she was hoping for. "I'll get to meet your girlfriend too and run

my experiments on her."

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Akaki yelled, growing flustered

at his mom's way of amusing herself. "You'll get to meet her, but

you're not poking, prodding, or scanning her in any way, shape, or

form if you come here."

"I'm only kidding. Sheesh, you're sure uptight about

her," Washu teased. "She looks nice, but she doesn't have

anything on me." Washu struck a pose, thrusting out her ample

chest.

"Ever since you let yourself be an adult again, you've

certainly become more less shy with yourself," he said, looking

away.

Washu let out a yawn and stretched her arms over her

head. "Well, I'll try to make plans to come visit you in the near

future, okay?" she asked, scratching the back of her head. "I need

a bath," she mumbled.

"I'd like that a lot, mom. I've come to visit you twice and

I think you'd like to see where I've settled in too. I'll check my

schedule and let you know when the best time to come by will be."

"Sounds good to me, son," she responded, smiling.

"Great. I'll talk to you tomorrow mom. Same time?" he

asked, getting ready to switch off his computer.

"Anytime is a good time, Akaki. Talk to you tomorrow."

"Bye mom. I love you!" he said.

"I love you too, sweetie. Bye now," she said, turning off

her laptop and banishing it back to subspace.

Getting up from her seat, she slowly made her way to the

doorway to exit her lab, and she removed her lab coat, hanging it

on a peg that was nearby. Opening her door, nearly all the lights in

her lab automatically turned off, leaving just a few on to see her

way to various parts of her lab.

Upon entering the living room, Aeka was seated quietly at

the organ, looking out the window. Nobuyuki was nowhere to be

seen. Letting her door click shut behind her, Aeka turned around

and smiled.

"Good evening, Washu. I haven't seen you for a few

days. How are you?" she asked, smiling warmly.

"I'm in a good mood," she responded lightly. "How

about you?"

Aeka laughed. "Actually, I'm bored out of my mind.

There's nothing to do. No cooking, no cleaning. It's driving me

crazy."

"Where's Russ?"

Pointing her finger outside, she glanced back at Washu to

see her expression.

"What does he think he is? A bird?" Washu muttered,

keeping an eye on the saiyan perched on his branch. A moment

later, she noticed Sasami was up there with him. "Are they

asleep?"

Nodding quietly, Aeka then placed her chin in her palm

and sighed to herself.

Looking back at the crown princess, she knew something

was up. "Um, how long has he been up there?"

"Actually, he's been meditating for almost a week

straight. He hasn't done any physical training for that long and he

hasn't said much of anything. It's almost like he's a different

person," she said, wistfully. "I miss him."

Washu's expression changed to one of concern. "I know

a lot of martial artists begin to meditate when they're confronted

with an upcoming event. They mentally prepare themselves for a

major conflict. Russ has already physically prepared, but now he

must mentally prepare. If you remember, Zorpheus is supposed to

arrive sooner or later."

"I know that, but I don't know when," she said, taking her

eyes off of Russ. However, she watched Sasami pull away from

him and being to re-approach the house, flying slow and careful.

She was carrying both the plate and Russ's empty glass. "Maybe

she knows."

Both Aeka and Washu waited for Sasami to come into the

house, intending to ask her what she learned from him. She landed

on the porch gently, put the glass on the plate, and slid open the

door carefully, and after walking through it, she shut it behind her.

"So did he tell you anything, Sasami?" Aeka asked,

nearly plowing over her sister in anxiety.

Producing a little sweatdrop, she nodded her head. "Yes,

actually. Zorpheus will arrive tomorrow," she said simply.

Suddenly, things seemed to get much quieter. It was

almost as if everything in the world knew of the impending doom

and had become nervous and quiet from it.

"Is that why he's been up there for so long?" Aeka finally

asked.

Sasami nodded her head. "He's been meditating for a

long time, preparing himself for Zorpheus. He's nervous, but very

excited."

"Excited? Why?" Washu asked.

"He explained it to me, but it didn't make much sense.

He says that because he is a warrior, he gets excited over the idea

of fighting again. He loves fighting."

"I remember him telling us about that before," Washu

said, summoning her laptop and keying in her confirmed findings.

"But he knows that Zorpheus will be here tomorrow?"

Sasami nodded. "He's completely sure of himself."

"I wonder" Washu said, linking her laptop to her main

computer, which in turn, accessed multiple satellites that she kept

in orbit. Scanning for vessels, it came up blank. "I just scanned

the solar system and I don't see any ships," she said.

Aeka thought a moment. "Remember the ship Russ

originally arrived in that little space pod? Did you scan for

something that size or were you looking for something bigger?"

Scanning again, she extended the range of the sensors,

trying to detect any incoming debris or other items of that

particular size. Five small blips showed up on her screen, so she

scanned again, narrowing her search parameters to rule out any

kind of asteroid. Once the scan completed, one blip remained.

Looking up from her monitor, she gave an emotionless look to

both Aeka and Sasami.

"He's coming. His ship is still beyond the solar system,

but he's coming. At his current rate of travel, he'll arrive on Earth

sometime around noon or one."

"What are we going to do?" Sasami asked, looking

frightened.

"There is really nothing we can do," Washu said, keying a

few more commands on her keyboard. "I suppose we could try

blowing up his pod while it is still in space, but we can't destroy

anything until he does something wrong, or the Galaxy Police will

be all over us for murder."

Standing tall, Aeka took on her regal appearance, despite

her Earth type clothing. "I can order you to destroy that ship,"

Aeka said, seriously. "If it comes from a member of the Jurai

Royal Family while in our territory, it can supercede the Galaxy

Police."

"You will do no such thing," a deep voice behind them

said.

All three women turned toward the door to see Russ

standing there, his face a hard glare at both Aeka and Washu.

"But Russ, if we get rid of him, you won't have to fight

him," Washu explained. "Everything would be"

"Absolutely not. I will not have anybody killing anybody

for something they haven't even done yet. It's true that he may

fight with me, but it is also possible that he'll just blow it off as if

it were nothing. He's like that. I'd rather take the chance and save

a life rather than do something sneaky like killing him off before

he even gets here. That's dishonorable and cowardly and I won't

do it," he growled, stepping inside. "The answer is no. Do not

argue with me over it because the answer will remain the same."

Washu and Aeka both looked at each other, and then

shrugged their shoulders. "If that's what you want, Russ. We

won't do anything," Washu said, sending her computer back into

subspace. "Zorpheus will be here between noon and one tomorrow

afternoon. Prepare for his arrival," she said, turning toward the

bathroom and going inside, letting the door click shut behind her.

Russ let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry for sounding upset,"

he apologized. "But doing things like that, especially to someone

who was a very close friend of mine, doesn't work for me."

Nodding her head in understanding, Aeka put her hand on

his huge shoulder. "I understand and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to

make you upset."

Letting a small smile creep into his lips, he reached up

and took her hand in his. "It's okay. I guess I'm just a little tired.

I've been concentrating for so long that my head hurts a little."

"It's been about a week. Are you ready now?" she asked

quietly, looking into his eyes.

"As ready as I'll ever be. All I have to do tomorrow is get

Zorpheus into that room and then I'll tell him what I did with the

Dragonballs. I know he'll get pissed at me for that, and he may

take out a bit of his frustration on me, but he may overlook the

whole thing too. I just hope nothing goes out of control

tomorrow," Russ said, worriedly. "The last thing I need to have

happen is to have one of you guys hurt."

"We'll be okay as long as we stay outside of the room,

right?" Sasami asked, looking up at him.

Nodding his head, Russ then let out a sigh. "I hope so.

Washu says that the world is in an entirely different dimension, but

the dimensions are connected through a doorway. I sincerely hope

that nothing gets through it."

Aeka and Sasami both looked at him with worried eyes,

and without giving it a second thought, they both approached Russ

and hugged him, as it could be the very last time they'd see him

alive.

"Do good, Russ. We're counting on you," Sasami said,

holding back her tears.

"We'll be watching you. Washu set up a special room

where we can see everything that will happen. It'll almost be like

the holodeck, but it'll be a direct link to your battlefield. You

won't see us, but we'll see you," Aeka said, holding him tightly.

Russ smiled, feeling his own body shake slightly from his

nervousness. Resting his left hand on Sasami's head and wrapping

his other arm around Aeka, he gave them both reassurances that he

was there and would do anything for them. "I'll do my best.

Don't worry about me. But whatever happens, do not go into that

room. It could wind up being extremely violent and either of you

could be hurt quite easily."

"Okay, Russ," Sasami said, hugging him tightly, feeling

his muscles through his clothes. "Remember your promise."

Aeka remained silent, not agreeing nor disagreeing to

interfere in his fight. She knew she was outmatched and

outclassed, but it didn't matter. She loved Russ, and she'd do

anything for him. It didn't matter who his adversary was or what

he told her was best for her. If it meant she had to die to save him,

she'd do it without regret or a second thought. He was just too

important to her and she was not willing to let him go for any

reason. Hugging him even more tightly, letting out a few tears

squeeze their way out of the corners of her eyes, she refused to let

him go.

"Um, Aeka? Are you okay?" Russ asked, noticing a

teardrop running down her cheek. "It's alright. Don't worry. I

think everything will go okay tomorrow."

"I just want to hold you for a while longer," she

whispered. "I may never get to do it again if you" she trailed

off, sniffling. The late sun was just about ready to disappear

behind the far end of the valley, still flooding the living room with

intense, orange light.

Feeling that lump in his throat return, he told himself that

even though she loved him, she was far more important than he

was, and he would not risk her life for something that involved

him. Ever. She was so vulnerable, but so beautiful, that Russ felt

a conflict of emotions roaring in his head. One side was telling

him to follow his heart, the other side telling him to follow his

head. Unfortunately for both him and her, his head was winning.

Very slowly making his way over to the couch, he sat

down in the middle of it, and Aeka sat down next to him, still not

releasing her hold on him. Sasami took a seat next to him on the

other side, resting her own head against his shoulder, but holding

tightly onto his arm.

"I'll never forgive you if you die," Aeka said, wiping her

eyes with her shirt.

"He won't die. He promised me he wouldn't," Sasami

said, looking over at her sister and smiling.

Russ looked over at Sasami, and then at Aeka, looking

contented and surprisingly happy. "That's right. I did promise

that, didn't I?" he said, keeping his voice very low.

Sasami nodded her head. "Yes you did."

Looking out toward the lake, watching the ripples on the

surface of the water, Russ felt at peace with himself. The feeling

he had inside couldn't be described merely by words or actions,

but as an emotion that he had felt only once before. But he already

knew what it was, and the heartache it caused. That uncontrollable

rage that he felt when Laurie was killed was insurmountable and

unparalleled, and he never wanted to feel that again. But he did

want to feel the contentedness and love that was flowing from the

two girls who sat next to him on the couch.

His mind went to war again, fighting to keep them or to

turn them away. He took that chance once and it went up in a huge

fireball, and he never wanted to take that chance again. Knowing

the risk involved to the two girls was extremely high, he debated

on whether it would be worth it or not. Did he want to feel that

sense of love for the rest of his life, but risk the heartbreak that

could be caused by one of their deaths? Or, should he turn them

both away, and deny himself both the love and the chance of

heartache? Was it really worth it?

That wasn't the only problem too. Aeka's stature was a

major blow to their chances of a relationship, despite what her

parents had said. Both Misaki and Funaho approved of their

relationship, but her father was vehemently against it, and he could

understand why. Remembering what he told Aeka on Christmas

Day, "You live here with us, for now. One day, you will go back

home to rule the most powerful empire in this galaxy." He knew

he'd never fit in with the Jurai Royal Family and he knew a

marriage between Aeka and he was impossible. "That would

never work, and you know it. I am a man from a race thought to

be extinct, and he just waltzes in to become the Princess's groom?

No, that couldn't happen," he had said.

"Well, it's past nine," Russ said gently. "I should go to

bed and get a good night's sleep so I'm good and refreshed for

tomorrow."

"Russ?"

"Yes, Sasami?" he responded, glancing down at her.

"Can I sleep in your room with you tonight?" she asked,

looking at him with frightened eyes. "I'd feel better if I can stay

with you."

"Me too," Aeka said, looking up at him with the same

worried eyes. "Please?"

Sighing to himself, he debated on what he should tell

them. "I won't be going anywhere tonight and I'll still be here in

the morning" he began.

"Please?" Sasami begged, not caring about his reasons.

"I uh" he started, but closed his eyes and then let out

a deep breath. "Yeah. You can sleep in my room with me."

"What about me?" Aeka asked, looking like she was

going to cry.

Russ nodded his head. "Yes, you too."

"Thank you. You're my big brother," Sasami said, letting

go of his arm and making her way up the stairs. "I'm going to go

get my futon and put it in your room, and then we can go to bed."

Aeka got up as well, heading toward the stairs. "I'll do

the same. I'm going to get into my nightclothes and then join you

in your room."

Getting up, he slowly followed them up the stairs, the

steps creaking under his tremendous weight from his added muscle

mass. Reaching the top and heading to his room, he slid back his

door and went in, making sure his floor was still clean. Hardly

ever in his room to begin with, he was only in it just to sleep or

listen to his stereo when it was raining. All he ever had to do was

make his bed, which he rarely did anyway, and make sure the

furniture wasn't dusty.

Tossing back his covers, then reaching over to turn his fan

on, he laid down on top of his bed, awaiting the intrusion of the

two princesses. He wasn't sleepy, but he was tired from the mental

stress he was putting himself through. The arrival of Zorpheus, the

prospect of having Aeka as a girlfriend, the potential for all of his

friends to be killed, weighed very heavily on his mind. Even

though he said that it would all work out, he was still having

trouble convincing himself of that.

It wasn't very often, but Zorpheus had blown his stack a

few times and had gone ballistic, killing off armies of people by

himself. He could only stand there and watch in amazement at the

sheer amount of power and will to win that he had possessed,

especially while he was enraged. However, he was very difficult

to make upset, as he was himself, but still, would revealing to him

that the Dragonballs could not grant immorality cause him to open

up a can of whoop-ass? Hoping that Zorpheus would keep his

cool, Russ closed his eyes, listening to the chirping birds that were

still awake outside, then glanced out his window. Twilight was

setting in, making the sky gorgeous shades of orange, red, blue and

violet. The sun reflected off of the clouds, turning them orange,

making them look like dyed cotton balls or fireballs. His

concentration was interrupted at the sound of his door opening.

"I'll be down here," Sasami said, spreading her futon

about a foot away from his bed. Dressed in her nightclothes, she

looked very cute. An oversized Ryo-Ohki t-shirt was all she had

on, except for her undergarments. The shirt was almost long

enough to touch the floor. Ryo-Ohki had followed her in, patiently

waiting for Sasami to tuck herself in so she could sleep next to her.

Smiling and nodding his head in acknowledgement, Russ

remained silent, his mind going back to Sasami and Aeka. He

replayed dozens of significant events in his mind, remembering the

enjoyment he felt over the past year, and also the heartache of

refusing Aeka again and again. She was the most stubborn woman

he had ever known. Doing a quick mental count, he would've

sworn he told her no on at least forty occasions, but each time,

she'd rebound and go after him again.

The door slid open once more, this time revealing Aeka in

her purple nightgown. She had her futon and pillow rolled up

under her arm, and she smiled upon entering his room. "I'll sleep

next to Sasami," she said, kneeling down and carefully spreading

her bed onto the floor. "And no, I will not take your bed," she

said, winking at him.

Russ's face began to turn red, but fortunately, the setting

sun hid it well. "I was just about to ask you if you wanted it," he

said, his voice low, deep, and smooth. "But I also knew you'd

refuse it." He chuckled quietly.

Both princesses tucked themselves in using the last of the

remaining daylight to see. It wasn't long before the room became

dark, but it never got dark enough to where they couldn't see.

Strong, radiant moonlight pierced through the window,

illuminating his room in pale moonlight. Crickets were chirping

their nightly chorus outside the window, but the fan on Russ's desk

was enough to silence them.

"Russ?"

"Yes, Aeka?"

"What are you going to do after your fight?" she asked,

keeping her voice low. Sasami's breathing was slow and peaceful,

and they could both tell that she fell asleep quickly.

"Sasami asked me that earlier," he answered quietly. "I

was only supposed to come here to stop Zorpheus, and afterward, I

was going to leave and go somewhere else. Maybe go see Tom

and stay with him for a while. He could use a good pair of strong

hands to help build his fleet of ships."

"I see." Turning over on her side to face Russ, she

tucked her arm under her pillow, raising it up enough to keep her

head level. "Are you still going to do that?"

Russ also shifted positions, getting a clear view of her

from the moonlight that blanketed the floor. "I don't know."

"You don't want to stay with us?"

'I knew that was coming,' he said to himself. "To be

honest, you'd be better off without me."

"So you're going to leave, even after all of this time, even

after winning over all of our hearts, and becoming a part of our

family?" she whispered.

"Tom still needs help. I've been his friend for a very long

time, and he could use a person like me," he answered lamely,

wishing she didn't bring that subject up.

"Then I'll go with you," she answered. "I'll go with you

into Hell, to the end of the universe, or beyond," she said, her

voice squeaky from the lump that was caught in her throat. "I

don't want to be apart from you."

"Stop it," he whispered. "It isn't right and it won't work.

How many more times will I have to explain that to you?"

"When will you understand that I've fallen for you?" she

replied, her soft voice wavering.

Tossing back his covers, Russ sat up. "Come on," he

whispered. "If you want to argue again, we should do it where we

won't wake Sasami up."

Sitting up, being careful to be as quiet as possible, she got

to her feet, but Russ could see two streaks of light that went from

the corners of her eyes down to her chin, courtesy of the tears that

he caused once again.

Russ grimaced, but fortunately the darkness hid his

reaction. Lifting off the floor, he floated over to his door, slid it

back, and went outside, followed by the crown princess, who

mimicked his movements. She quietly let the door close, and she

followed him down the stairs to the living room. The moonlight

was so intense that they could both see clearly and didn't need any

extra light. It was still comfortably warm and relaxing. Landing

on the floor, Russ looked back at Aeka, and then outside.

Gesturing with his index finger, he opened the glass door and

stepped out onto the porch, a very light, cool breeze ruffling his

clothes. Following obediently, she shut the door behind him, and

they both sat down, not having said a word since leaving his room.

The sky was crystal clear, littered with thousands of little

stars, twinkling their everlasting light. The moon was big, round,

and full, casting its light on the landscape, changing it and making

it look like a whole new world. The crickets were loud, but not

deafening, and it sounded nice and pleasant. An owl hooted

somewhere in the forest, letting the night bugs know that it was

hungry.

Turning toward each other, Russ and Aeka both said each

other's names at the same moment, and they both sighed.

"Go ahead," Russ invited, still keeping his voice low, but

not a whisper.

"Please tell me is it because you don't like me?" she

began, looking into Russ's eyes.

Russ smiled, and then shook his head. "No. I already

told you why. I'm sorry you don't want to accept that answer, but

it's the truth."

"I understand everything about you, except this," she said,

looking down at the soft grasses at the end of the porch. "There

has to be another reason behind it. Is it because you find me

unattractive?"

"Here we go again. No, that's not it either. You're one of

the most beautiful girls I've ever had the pleasure of knowing or

even associating with," he said, but stopped. "No you're the

MOST beautiful girl I've ever seen," he answered, blushing.

Aeka blushed as well. "You're not just saying that?"

"Do you think that I could say otherwise?" he countered.

"I told you this a long time ago, but I do not like telling lies or

hearing them. There is a time and a place for it, and I have lied in

the past, but never to you."

"You told us you were going to be here on vacation when

you first arrived," she said, frowning at him. "And you also said

that you were never in a relationship. Those were both lies,

weren't they?"

Sighing and hanging his head, he nodded. "Yes. I lied

about my relationship with Laurie because I wanted to keep that a

secret for the rest of my life, but it could also be considered the

truth, because we never officially went out with each other.

Secondly, I didn't know how long I'd actually be here, but it

turned out to be much longer than I thought. Technically speaking,

when I do leave, my vacation here would be over. I have enjoyed

myself here as if I were on a vacation, but as with all trips and

breaks, they all must come to an end. And it will come to an end

after the fight tomorrow," he said, turning his eyes away from her

and looking at the lake.

Brushing a stray hair out of her eyes, she too looked at the

water, which resembled a sheet of glass. "I see. How much longer

will you stay after your work is done tomorrow?"

"I don't know. Once I'm sure Zorpheus has given up on

the Dragonballs and immortality, then I'll probably leave."

"You know, I can make it difficult for you to do that. I'll

stop you, if I have to. I do not want you to leave me and I do not

want to be apart from you. Do you realize how crushed I'd be?

You're already hurting me beyond words, telling me that you want

to leave," she said, her voice wavering again. "It's almost like

nobody wants me. Tenchi didn't want me. You don't want me. Is

there something wrong with me? What is it?" she said, turning

toward Russ, the tears free flowing. "What is wrong with me?"

"Stop it," he said, his voice strong and steady, but gentle

at the same time. "There is nothing wrong with you. It's me who

has the problem, and it's me who does not want to resolve it."

"What? Why? Why don't you want to be with me?" she

cried, trying to keep herself under control. "I just don't understand

it."

"I told you before. It is far too dangerous to be with me.

Besides, your stature is the major blow to a relationship. You're a

leader and the crown princess of a planet that I've been to only

once. I'm from a race that is supposed to be extinct. And we're

just supposed to just jump into each other's arms? You know as

well as I that it couldn't happen that way," he explained, trying to

be as gentle as he could. "We're from two different planets with

two very different cultures and different views on the outlook of

life. I cannot be the prince of Jurai and you could not be the

princess of my home world. We'd be shunned at one place or the

other. We'd be miserable at either place."

"Then we'll go somewhere far away, or we could stay

here on Earth," she said, wiping her face dry. "All I want is to live

out my days with you, Sasami, and nobody else." Wrenching her

hands in front of her, it took all of her restraint to keep from letting

all of her frustrations out all at once. "I" she began, but

hesitated. "I I lo"

"Shhh," Russ said. "Don't say it. Please don't say it," he

begged. "I already know how you feel, but you don't really know

how I feel."

Looking up at him, her eyes reflecting some of the light

from the moon, she shook her head, hesitating. "How do you

feel?" she finally asked.

"My mind has been at war with my heart ever since I met

you," he revealed, looking at the moon. "My heart tells me that

everything will be okay, but my brain thinks it knows better. The

only reason I tell you no, is because I do not want to take a chance

at love again and the potential heartbreak I could have if something

happened to you as a result of my actions. I've never told you this

and I've kept it hidden well, but I'm crazy about you. I love how

you make me smile, treat me nice, train with me, and all around,

will do anything with me or for me," he revealed, his face on fire,

trying to keep his voice steady. "You are my embodiment of a

perfect girl. You're beautiful, intelligent, and happy. You love to

have fun and go do things with me. You have a good sense of

humor too. If I were from Jurai rather than from a world that

nobody knows about, then yes, I probably would have no, I

know I would have gone on a date with you, and further still,

married you." Russ stopped for a moment, looking toward the

shrine, catching a glimpse of Aeka's awestruck expression. "You

think you have me all figured out, but you have no idea how much

you've been on my mind. I'm always thinking about you at nearly

all times of the day. When I'm training, eating, meditating, or

anything else, you enter my mind like an unstoppable wave of

emotion. I can't get my mind off of you and it ruins my

concentration, even during my most intense meditation sessions.

It's unreal. I've never had someone who had this affect on me

before. Not even Laurie was like you, in the sense of keeping my

mind occupied."

Watching him quietly, her face showed nothing but

surprise and wonder. "You're lying," she finally said, her

expression changing to depression as she turned away from him.

"If that is really true, then you've hidden it far better than you do

with your secrets."

Sighing quietly to himself, Russ nodded his head. "It's

true. I'm crazy about you and want to be with you more than

anything, but when my brain looks at the bigger picture, my head

tells me that it wouldn't work, and I agree with my head, especially

after the last tragedy. I do not want to feel the heartbreak that I felt

when Laurie died, and I'm afraid the same thing will happen to

you, and I'm not willing to take that chance."

"But I'm not like Laurie. You said that she wasn't a

warrior and couldn't defend herself. I'm from an empire that was

the strongest in the galaxy, until you showed up. There is almost

nothing in this galaxy that could touch the power of the Jurai Royal

Family," she said, her pride surfacing, but the last scraps of self-

control she had over herself were beginning to give way, as her

hands began shaking. "I can take care of myself, and it's my

decision if I want to be with you. I wish you would change your

mind. What will it take for you to change your mind about me?"

"There is nothing in this universe that could force me to

change my mind. It is a decision that I have to come to on my

own," he said, looking over at the princess, who looked even more

beautiful in the soft moonlight. "On hundreds of occasions, my

mind would fight with my heart, and at times, my heart would

almost win, and I almost had the courage to ask you out or to be

with me for the rest of my life. I'd tell myself, 'To hell with her

parents, her stature, and the risk that something would happen to

her. I want her to be mine, forever.' But of course, my head

would always counter with the same thing. 'Remember what

happened to your first love. Remember Aeka's parents and the

empire she will control. It won't work.' And that battle has been

raging in my head ever since I met you, but never as intensely as it

has during the past several months. Neither side wins for very

long, nor it has stressed me out more than it ever has before. I

wish you weren't the crown princess of the most powerful empire

known. If you were just a normal girl without any royal ties, then I

probably would have asked you to stay with me for the rest of my

life. But unfortunately, it isn't meant to be."

"If I renounce my throne, will you change your mind?"

she asked, her hands balled up into tight fists, her eyes closed, as

she fought with herself over what she was thinking of.

"What did you say?" Russ said, knowing full well what

she said, but was shocked at the suggestion.

"If I give up my throne and my royal ties to the planet

Jurai, will you accept me?" she asked again, looking at him with

tear-streaked eyes and an unhappy face. "I'll do anything for you.

Even this."

"Come on, Russ," Ryoko whispered from the side of the

house, eavesdropping on the two. "Do it. Make her happy."

"Damn, she really put him on the ropes with that one. I

can't believe she's so in love with him that she'd actually do that,"

Tenchi whispered back, also very drawn into their conversation.

They had made it back just after Russ and Aeka had gone

out onto the porch. After they had gone to the mall, they both went

to a dairy queen and had a dessert, and then walked around for a

while, just to pass the time away. Tenchi knew he had to do the

laundry, but it wouldn't wake anybody up, since the washer was

outside.

Ryoko shook her head. "What is it going to take to make

him realize that he can't get rid of her? I know that much because

I couldn't get rid of her when she was chasing you," she

whispered, not taking her eyes off of the couple. "I'm still very

surprised that she did give you to me."

"Shhh, I can't hear what they're saying. Make sure to

keep your power suppressed to nothing. I don't want him catching

us," Tenchi whispered, straining to hear Russ and Aeka.

Russ remained silent, completely blown away that she

was willing to break ties with her home so she could be with him.

Nobody had ever offered to do anything like that for him in the

past, and it felt almost like it was out of a romance novel.

However, he already knew what it would mean if she did.

"No," he answered, shaking his head, his arms trembling.

"Your father would be so infuriated he may try to destroy this

world and me. He wouldn't be able to touch me, but I couldn't

guarantee the safety of my home," Russ said, hanging his head. "I

know how much you want to be with me now. I would've never

thought you'd be willing to give up your home, your life, and your

title, just to be with me. I'm completely at a loss at what to do

now. But, do not break ties with your home. I can't let you do

that, as that would be very selfish of me to force that upon you."

"I don't care," she said, sniffling. "All I ever wanted was

to be loved by someone, as a person and not as a figurehead. You

and Tenchi were the only ones who ever saw through my faade

and saw the real me underneath it all. But both of you turned me

away," she said, crying. "I'm not wanted by the two people I've

fallen for, and I don't know what to do anymore. I'm almost a

broken shell of a woman, as I have nothing to live for. I don't

want to live for my planet, but for someone to love me, to care for

me, and to be with me for the rest of my life. Everything else can

go to hell, and I don't care about any risks involved. My happiness

and the happiness of the person I love is paramount, and I won't let

anything else get in the way of that."

His jaw hanging open, Russ looked at her in complete

astonishment. The voices in his heart started screaming at him to

take her in his arms and tell her that he loved her, and would spend

the rest of his life with her, no matter what happened. The voices

in his head raised their own voices, yelling at him that it would

never work, despite what both he and she wanted.

Clenching his head in his hands, Russ wrapped his fingers

around several spikes of his hair and gave them a good tug, as he

strained to keep himself under control. Standing up and walking

out a couple paces, he turned around and looked at the princess,

who watched him with sand, longing eyes. Clenching his fists

together, his hair stood on end, and in a brilliant flash of energy, he

transformed himself into a super saiyan.

Aeka sat back in surprise, but she didn't run away, even

though a tinge of fear entered her heart.

"Does this scare you, Aeka?" he finally asked, letting his

energy fade away, the pulsing sound dying off, the moonlight

returning to occupy the space his yellow energy had a moment

before, but his hair remained yellow and his eyes green. "This is

the other side of me that comes out when I fight. Do you feel

frightened or intimidated by it? Because this is what you'd live

with."

Unable to sense his outrageous power, she remained silent

for a few moments, but she got to her feet and approached Russ,

her expression depressed, sad, and lonely. "No," she said, standing

in front of him. "It doesn't scare me. I want you, Russ, and

nobody else. And it doesn't matter what you become, whether it

be a golden haired warrior or a gigantic ape, you're the one for

me," she said.

Russ's face pulled into surprise. "How did you know

about that?" he asked, stunned.

"Huh? How did I know about what?" she asked,

confused.

"How did you know that I could turn into a gigantic ape?"

he asked, as he went through his mind, trying to find an instance of

where or when he mentioned to anybody that he would turn into a

huge ape when exposed to moonlight while he had a tail.

"What are you talking about? I said that as an analogy,"

she replied, still confused, but then she became surprised. "You

mean that you can turn into an ape?"

"Crap," he muttered, as he was hoping to keep that a

secret too, but he nodded. "Yes. Saiyans are born with a tail that

allows us to transform into an ape in full moonlight. We make

King Kong look like a miniature monkey after our transformation."

"You're kidding," she said, turning away. "You're trying

to make me laugh, but I'm too depressed right now."

"Argh!" Russ growled to himself, shaking it off. "Aeka,

please give me up," he said, moving to stand in front of her.

"There are other people out there who would be better for you in

comparison to me."

"Like that piece of shit Serio that my father wants me to

marry?" she snapped, becoming angry. "Oh yes, I really want to

love and marry an arrogant creep like that. I do not get to choose

my fiance when I'm at home. My father chooses the one best

suited to the empire and sticks me with him, whether I approve of

him or not. All they expect me to do is be obedient and to produce

an heir to the throne. My life is a living hell there, and I do not

want to go back to it. I never want to go home! I want to stay

here, with you! You just don't realize how much I've fallen in

love with you!" she yelled, balling up her fists and pounding on

Russ's chest. "I love you, god dammit!"

After letting out her feelings and frustrations, she

collapsed onto Russ's chest and cried uncontrollably, not able to

bring herself to terms with her life.

"Maybe I should just commit suicide and end it all!" she

yelled, slamming her fists on Russ's chest again and again. "I've

got nothing to live for anymore!"

His expression changing to extreme hurt and pain, he

wrapped his arms around the crying princess and held her, just as

she almost lost her footing to collapse onto the ground. He held

here there until she stopped crying, as he fought to hold back his

own emotions.

"You son of a bitch, Russ," Ryoko snarled, ready to kill

him for putting her friend through such torment. "You asshole of a

man!"

"Ryoko! Calm down! He'll sense you if your energy

goes too high!" Tenchi hissed, putting his hands on her shoulders,

trying to hold her back. "Just wait!"

"No, god dammit!" she shot back. "I'm going to tear

Russ apart if it's the last thing I do!"

"Calm down!" Tenchi snapped, still not releasing his cast

iron grip on her. "Do not interfere with either of them! They'll

work it out on their own!"

"Bullshit!" she swore, turning around to face Tenchi with

an inferno burning in her catlike eyes. "He's had over a year to

accept her and he still hasn't! What the hell is wrong with him?!"

"It's not our place to interfere! We can support them, but

we can't force them to do something that one or the other doesn't

want to do!"

"But why must Aeka suffer like this? It's so obvious that

she is willing to do ANYTHING for him. Anything! She's so

hopelessly in love with him and he still rejects her! I don't get

why!" Ryoko hissed, baring her fangs. "Maybe if I beat some

sense into him, he'll realize what he's missing!"

"Knock it off!" Tenchi growled, his face contorted with a

deep, penetrating anger, which surprised Ryoko to the point where

she calmed down almost instantly. "Just wait."

"Aeka? Do you think your sister, your parents, or any of

your friends would forgive you if you did that?" Russ said,

frustrated and angry. "That's the cowards way out of life. Life

isn't fair, as it hasn't been with me for most of my life. I need you

as my friend, Aeka, as you're the best one I've ever had," Russ

said, trembling. "I'd go insane if I ever lost you or your sister."

"I have nothing to live for," she cried, resting her head on

Russ's chest. "What do I have to live for? There is nobody out

there who wants to love me for the real me!"

"That's not true," Russ said, closing his eyes, his heart

screaming at him.

Aeka continued to cry, but she looked into Russ's face, a

streak of hope in her eyes. "Who then?" she whispered.

"You have your sister to live for, and for me too. I've

never had a friend like you, and your sister needs you. What do

you think will happen to her once she goes home to take your place

if you die? Do you wish that on poor Sasami?" Russ said, rubbing

her back gently. "That isn't being fair to either her or me, or

anybody else who knows you and loves you. Your family is

HERE, not on Jurai," he said, looking into her amethyst eyes.

"You've taken the planet Earth, this house, this place, and made it

your home. Do you want to just throw it all away?"

"But like you said, my parents will eventually come to

take me away from all of this," she sobbed, still not able to regain

control over her emotions. "They don't care about how I feel, just

about what will benefit that damned planet of Jurai!"

"Your mother and your aunt Funaho both care," Russ

countered.

"But even they have to take a backseat to my father. My

father's word is final, no matter what they say. They can try to

influence his decision, but ultimately, what he says is absolute. If

he never approves, then I have to obey him."

Taking in a deep breath through his nose, Russ released it

through his mouth in a deep sigh. "But if I were with you, I could

stop him?"

"Yes," she whimpered, sniffling again. Wiping her tears

away with the back of her hand, her tears were quickly replaced by

fresh ones. "If you were with me, there wouldn't be much he

could do."

"I" he started, but hesitated. Hanging his head in

defeat, he prepared himself to say something that he swore he'd

never say again. "Aeka?"

She didn't answer him, but squeezed him tighter.

"If" he said, swallowing the huge lump in his throat.

"If everything goes well tomorrow and the fight ends without

casualties, I will" he hesitated, squeezing his eyes together

tightly. "I will"

"Say it, dammit!" Ryoko whispered, squeezing her hands

together in anticipation. "SAY IT!"

"I will go out with you," he finally said, feeling faint

over what he just proposed.

Letting out a quick gasp of utter surprise, Aeka raised her

head to look into Russ's eyes, which had the same, lonely feel that

she had. "You will?"

Grinding his teeth and telling his brain to shut up, he

nodded his head. "Yes. I will be your boyfriend, if you would be

my girlfriend, but only if things go okay tomorrow."

"You will?" she asked again, her face filled with hope and

a renewed sense of being.

"Yes." Russ gazed into her eyes, felt her warmth, and

could feel her entire body relax, releasing all of its tension in less

than a second, as he could feel a wave of emotion wash over his

mind, filling him with peace.

Aeka looked at him, her tears streaming anew. "You

will?" she asked a third time.

Russ grinned and started chuckling, then nodded his head.

"Oh Russ!" she cried, sobbing all over again, burying her

face in his chest, feeling a happiness and fulfillment that she never

felt before.

"Please stop crying, Aeka," Russ begged, stroking her

silky, soft hair. "You know how I feel and I know how you feel,

and it may finally be time for me to move on. What's lost is lost,

and I have a chance to start something fresh and new once again."

Aeka didn't answer, but continued to cry, overwhelmed at

the sensation that her lifelong dream could finally be fulfilled.

"God damn, after all of that, he finally said yes," Ryoko

whispered, feeling a tremendous amount of joy for her friend.

"That hard headed, frosty saiyan actually does have a heart."

"Ryoko, it all depends on what happens tomorrow. If

Aeka dies or he dies, this all goes away. They could be setting

themselves up for the biggest heartbreak either of them will ever

feel."

"Everything will be okay. Russ is the strongest warrior

we've ever seen. I don't think anybody could match him, no

matter what he says," Ryoko said, smiling.

Tenchi looked back toward the front of the house. "Come

on, Ryoko," he whispered. "Let's go before they find us."

Ryoko nodded. "Okay."

Sneaking back to where the washer was kept, they both

set about filling the machine from the basket of dirty clothes.

"My lady."

"What is it, D3?"

"The second saiyan, Zorpheus, has just entered the solar

system," he reported, watching the small, white spacepod hurtle

through the cosmos.

Tokimi, one of the three goddesses, turned her attention to

the viewscreen. "He is Russ's friend?"

D3 cleared his throat, checking a log file that was kept

from a conversation in the past. "They haven't been together for a

couple years, but they didn't split up on either bad or good terms."

Tokimi closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to see

into the future. After several minutes, she came to, and opened her

eyes. "They still have the potential to become allies once again. If

Tsunami or Washu uses them against us, it could be catastrophic."

"Yes, milady."

"This cannot be allowed to happen," she said, raising her

left hand in front of her, palm upward, as she began to concentrate.

A small, white ball of energy formed in her hand, and within the

ball, an image of Zorpheus, sleeping in his pod, became visible.

"Russ is too aware and too powerful right now to alter, but

Zorpheus is in stasis, and his mind is very vulnerable. I will

modify him."

"What shall you do, Lady Tokimi?" D3 asked, watching

his goddess perform one of her miracles.

"I shall enhance his feelings of anger, and intensify his

hatred for Russ by two orders of magnitude. He will become what

everybody fears most, that being a killing machine. If all goes

well, both saiyans will destroy each other."

"A brilliant idea," he praised, watching Zorpheus glow

intensely for a few moments in the ball of energy, and fade to

normal.

"It is done," she said, taking a deep breath. "I must rest

now." And with that, she disappeared from view.

Looking back at the data he collected from Russ, they

were still unable to calculate his energy level. His goddess,

Tokimi, could generate a significant amount of ki, but she didn't

need it. She was immortal and could manipulate whomever she

pleased, aside from those with strong minds. However, against an

opponent such as Russ, he could not predict an outcome.

Changing the viewscreen to look at both Washu and

Sasami, he smiled upon the two other goddesses. "Sleep well,

sisters of Tokimi. Soon, we shall all be re-united, and the universe

that you all occupy will be eradicated."

"You were completely serious about that?" Aeka

whispered from her bed, still finding his decision almost

unrealistic. After so many refusals, after so many tears and so

much heartbreak, he had finally come to a decision, and he finally

caved in and agreed to become a couple with her.

"For the last time, yes!" Russ hissed from his bed,

completely worried and sweating profusely from the stress of his

choice. His head was screaming at him and had completely

silenced his heart, and he began to question his decision. He knew

he was going to be in for a rough ride, especially when it came to

her parents, in particular, her father. "I must be insane."

Aeka giggled quietly. "I think that is the most logical

choice you've made since you've been here," she countered, her

mind, body, and soul, finally at peace.

"Come on," Russ whispered, fretting. "I have to get some

sleep and be well rested for tomorrow. It's going to be a long

day."

"Yes. I'm just so happy" she said, but stopped. Sasami

had begun tossing and turning on her bed, the little triangles on her

forehead glowing intensely. "Sasami?"

Russ sat up in his bed, looking worriedly at the little

princess. He could feel a strange energy coming from her, but he

had felt it once before. "That's the same energy I've felt at the

Startica Festival when she had a nightmare," he said, getting out of

his bed and kneeling on the floor.

"Sasami, wake up!" Aeka said, shaking her sister back

and forth. "Come on, Sasami!"

"Wake up," Russ encouraged, also shaking her. "Come

on, Sasami! Wake up!"

Continuing to toss and turn, she began to mumble

incoherent phrases to herself, and at one point, almost began

shouting into the darkness.

"What is happening to her, Russ?!" Aeka said, becoming

panicked.

"I don't know! Something is affecting her, but I don't

know what!" he growled, still shaking the little princess back and

forth.

After a few more moments, her eyes snapped open and

the little symbol on her forehead faded back to normal. Sitting bolt

upright in her bed, she was breathing heavily and sweating like

mad, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. A second later, several

tears began running down her cheeks, her face completely blank

and devoid of life.

"Sasami!" both Russ and Aeka said, putting their faces

directly in front of Sasami's, trying to get her attention.

"Aeka? Russ?" she said, the tears still streaming

uncontrollably. "RUSS!" Lunging forward, she grabbed Russ

around the neck and caused him to fall to the floor. She landed on

top of him and buried her face in his chest, crying almost like Aeka

had earlier.

"What's wrong, Sasami? Please tell me!" Aeka said,

trying to pry her sister off of Russ, but she had a death grip around

Russ's neck. Fortunately for him, since he wasn't a normal man,

he didn't suffocate from her viselike grip. It was amazing that

arms so little possessed such strength.

"It's Aeka!" she cried, not letting go.

"What happened?" he asked, not having moved since he

was tackled.

"I just had a dream where she died!" she cried, squeezing

as hard as she could. "Zorpheus killed her, and she died!"

Aeka's jaw dropped, listening to the revelation in

complete astonishment, awe, and horror. "No. That isn't

possible."

"Sasami, she won't die. I promise you she won't," Russ

said, holding her gently.

"It was horrible! There was blood! There was just so

much blood!" she cried, shaking uncontrollably. "I don't want her

to die!"

"I won't die, Sasami," Aeka said, forcing herself to be

calm. "I have more sense than that."

Sniffling and trying to get herself under control, she

slowly stopped crying, but she continued to shake, very afraid of

the horrid nightmare she just had.

Russ stroked her hair, being extremely gentle with her as

he rested his cheek on her head. Ryo-Ohki was on the floor,

watching her in deep concern. "Shhh. It'll be okay, Sasami. Just

relax and let it all out," he said, his voice a calm whisper.

"I'm so scared, Russ," she said, her voice still wavering,

but she stopped crying. "Zorpheus is a monster! He was so

powerful that even you couldn't stop him!"

"Do not worry. I was always more powerful than he was,

and there is no way I'll let him touch any of you if he gets out of

control," Russ said, keeping his voice deep, calm, and reassuring.

"But I don't think we'll need to worry. He is just as cool, calm,

and collective as I usually am, and I think everything will be okay

tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Sasami squeaked, looking up at him.

"He's sure, Sasami," Aeka responded, smiling. "There is

nothing to worry about."

"Are you okay now? Do you want a glass of warm milk

or something?" Russ asked, feeling the clamp around his neck be

released as Sasami withdrew.

Sniffling, she tried her eyes with her t-shirt. "No, I'm

okay now. Let's go back to sleep. I know you need your rest for

tomorrow."

Russ sighed, and then patted her on the back. "Okay.

We'll both be right here if you have another nightmare," he said,

climbing back into his bed. "Goodnight, you two."

"See you in the morning," both Aeka and Sasami said in

stereo, causing Russ to grin.

Russ fell asleep in about a minute, but Aeka and Sasami

both took a lot longer. Aeka felt shivers go up and down her spine,

as she was frightened of the revelation that Sasami had told her

earlier. However, she reassured herself again and again that Russ

wouldn't let anything happen to her, but Sasami continued to

watch that dream again and again in her mind, growing scared

again, but keeping it to herself. She was the last to fall asleep,

almost an hour after Aeka had dozed off. She glanced over at

Russ, and she felt a little better, thinking of all the fun times she

had with him. But something kept nagging her in the back of her

mind about Zorpheus. There was just something weird about that

dream, as Zorpheus was far, far meaner than Russ had ever

described him. She knew something was wrong, but she didn't

know what. Finally closing her eyes, she forced herself to go into

slumber, continuing to worry about tomorrow.

The day of reckoning finally arrived, as the light of day

brightened the gray sky, which was overcast and gloomy. Birds

were chirping, the temperature was pleasant, and the air smelled of

rain, even though the ground was still dry. A light breeze ruffled

the leaves and moved the blinds in Russ's room around, however,

the saiyan remained asleep, and it was after nine in the morning.

Both Sasami and Aeka were awake, laying quietly in their

futons, not wanting to get up. Both princesses had an extremely

rough night of very light slumber, as they woke up multiple times,

a cause of their worry and concern. Still groggy with sleep, neither

wanted to get up, but they lay there, unable to doze off.

"You awake, Aeka?" Sasami whispered, rolling onto her

side to face her sister.

Rolling her head over to Sasami, she smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," she whispered back.

"It's past nine. Do you think we should get Russ up?" she

asked, keeping her voice very low.

Aeka shook her head, closing her eyes, and slowly

reopening them. "No. Let him get up on his own. He needs all

the sleep he can get. Besides, I want to sleep a little longer too."

Glaring at Aeka, Sasami frowned. "You're getting lazy,"

she scolded, causing Aeka to grin.

"So what," she replied, still grinning. "There isn't a rule

here that we have to be up at a certain time. Besides, we had a

rough night and I could use another hour or two of sleep."

Grinning a little wider, she giggled quietly. "You could use the

extra sleep too."

Now smiling, Sasami closed her eyes. "Yeah, you're

right."

Both princesses fell back into a light slumber, trying to

make up for the lack of rest from the night before. Russ never

stirred or moved from his sprawled position on the bed.

"Good morning, Akaki," Washu said, standing at one of

her lab tables, working on an experiment. She stopped a moment

and looked at the viewscreen, smiling widely.

"Mother. Do you know what TIME it is?" he growled, as

his face, hair, and visage looked like something that would've

crawled out of Hell itself.

"It's morning, according to standard time on your planet,"

she responded, grinning. "It's nice that both Earth and Bikinawa

have the same axial rotational speed, and it's even better that you

live almost in the same time zone."

"Mother. I did not go to bed until after three in the

morning. It is now nine. I am still very sleepy and I have today

off, so I planned on catching up on a lot of Z's I missed out on," he

muttered, glaring at his mother through the telecommunication

channel. "I'm going back to sleep for another couple hours."

Washu grinned. "You're lazy."

"I am not lazy!" he shot back, rubbing the sleep out of his

eyes, mumbling incoherent phrases to himself. "I'm just sleepy."

"Then go to bed earlier," Washu returned.

"Says the one who pulls all-nighters routinely."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Washu set back to work,

soldering several wires to a multi-layered circuit board on her

latest invention. "What time do you usually get up anyway?"

"This is the earliest you've called me, mom. I usually get

up around eleven or so," he said, then let out a huge yawn.

"Eleven?! You sleep your entire morning away?" she

asked, surprised.

"Well duh. I work the late shift at my job, so I sleep

almost the entire morning away. On weekends or on other days

when I don't have to go in, I sleep until almost one."

Washu frowned at him, shaking her head. "Well, you

should get up in the morning instead of wasting it. It's a good time

to get things done around the house."

"Feh. I really don't care at this point," he growled, still

very tired. "Call me back later when I'm more awake, AFTER I

get more sleep," he said, laying back down, burying his face in his

pillow.

"One water sprite, coming up!" Washu taunted, holding

her hands on her hips, wearing a huge grin.

"Bite me," he mumbled, trying to get comfortable again.

Washu's jaw dropped, as she was completely stunned that

he didn't even seem to care. "Excuse me?" she asked, unsure if

she heard him right.

"Go away. Sleeping."

It wasn't often that she got a surprise, but Akaki had

given her one of the biggest shocks of the week. Still unable to

believe what she heard, she continued to look at the image of her

son, trying to fall back to sleep in his bed.

"See you in a little bit, mom," he said, rolling over and

turning off the communicator, leaving a baffled Washu staring at a

now blank computer screen.

"Now THAT was unexpected," she said to herself. "Oh

well. I'll bother him later." Hearing her stomach croak, she put

her invention aside and made her way out of her lab. Upon

entering the living room, she heard a knock on the front door.

Sliding it open, it revealed both Kiyone and Mihoshi, both smiling

and in wonderful spirits.

"Hi Washu!" Mihoshi greeted in her usual ditz-like way.

"We're here!"

"Yes you are," Washu returned, grinning. "Hey,

Kiyone."

"Hello," she said, smiling. Handing over a bag she was

carrying, she stepped inside after Washu moved out of the way.

"These are for everybody," she explained.

"Thank you very much," Washu said, peeking into the

bag of goodies. "What did you bring us?"

"Sweets!" Mihoshi said, giggling. "There was never

enough here, so Kiyone and I decided to give you some. They're

very good."

Washu grinned. "And very fattening, no doubt. But

anyway, come on in and have a seat. I was just about to make me

some breakfast. Do you girls want anything?"

Kiyone sat down at the table and sighed, relaxing. "Some

tea would be nice, please."

"And I want tea too," Mihoshi chimed in, sitting next to

her partner. "I'm so thirsty!"

"Tea, coming right up," Washu sang, going into the

kitchen. "So girls, how are things going? It looks like you're

enjoying the weather."

Kiyone, dressed in a light blue t-shirt, knee-length jeans

shorts, and canvas shoes, took in a deep breath, tossing her head

from side to side, letting her long, green hair flap back and forth.

"Yeah. It feels really nice today. We have today off, so we're

enjoying ourselves."

Mihoshi was dressed a little more risqu, with a loose

fitting tank top and shorts that were extremely short, with a pair of

sandals. It almost looked as if her bust would spill over the top of

her shirt. "Yeah, we haven't had much time to do anything. Even

though we are getting funding from the Galaxy Police, they seem

to make us work a lot more than we used to."

"I'm not surprised. They usually do that to offset the

added drain on their budget," Washu explained, heating up the

water on the stove. "But how busy can it be up there anyway?"

"It's not busy," Kiyone said, looking at Washu through

the window in the wall. "A lot of times, we wind up doing nothing

the whole day. We sit and play games, watch TV, or play with the

radio, talking with a few of the other officers who don't do much.

It's boring, but at least it is an easy job most of the time. But there

was a person last week who led us on a chase, but we caught the

perpetrator easily enough."

Washu smiled. "Kiyone always gets her man!" she said,

pouring the hot water over the tea strainer, letting the green liquid

pour into the cups.

"Actually, it was a woman this time," Mihoshi explained.

"It was a lot of fun!"

Glaring at her partner, but letting it go, Kiyone smiled.

"Well, it was the most excitement we've had in a very long time.

It was stupid though, since the lady didn't have any kind of record

previously. Sometimes the stupidity of people astounds me."

Holding back a rude comment she could've made about

her partner, Washu just continued to smile as she brought the tea

out to the girls. "Here you go," she said, sliding the cups over,

then returning to the kitchen. "I still have to get something to eat."

"We already had breakfast," Kiyone said.

"Yeah, the usual instant miso soup and ramen noodles,"

Mihoshi described, grinning. "Nobody makes instant food better

than Kiyone!"

Groaning quietly, Kiyone shook her head. "Must you

always say how cheaply we live?"

"Oh, but Kiyone! There's nothing to be embarrassed

about. Instant food tastes good!" she said, cheerily, smiling

widely.

"Good morning, Kiyone and Mihoshi," Tenchi said,

coming down the stairs, followed by Ryoko.

"Hey! How are you?" Kiyone said, turning around to see

him. Mihoshi giggled and waved.

"We're doing really well, thanks," Tenchi said, reaching

the bottom step, and then made his way over to the table, sitting

down in his usual spot. Ryoko sat next to him, looking happy and

relaxed.

"You two seem to be in a good mood," Kiyone observed.

"Something happen last night or this morning?"

"Actually, yes. We had a nice time last night, as it was

the first time we've gone out to do anything in about a month.

Poor Tenchi is always so busy that he has a hard time making time

for us to do things, but it was very nice," Ryoko said, rubbing

against him.

"It's still so amazing that you two are getting married!"

Mihoshi exclaimed, blushing. "I can't wait until I find the man of

my dreams."

"Heaven forbid if he's anything like you, Mihoshi,"

Kiyone said, patting her on the shoulder. "I don't think the Earth

is big enough for someone who's just like you."

"Hey! I'm not all that bad!" Mihoshi whined, looking

pitiful, her blue eyes sparkling. "I haven't broken anything in at

least two days!"

"A personal record, I might add," Kiyone argued. "It

wouldn't be problematic if the person you find isn't as clumsy or

prone to breaking things as you."

"Oh, don't be so hard on her," Washu interjected from the

kitchen. "I'm sure she'll find someone wonderful, just like Tenchi

has." Returning from the kitchen with toast, rice, and miso soup,

she set her stuff down on the table and began to devour the food.

Smiling, Tenchi nodded. "Everybody has a match for

him or her in this universe," he agreed.

"I don't know, Tenchi. Another Mihoshi just make this

universe collapse in on itself. Remember how Mihoshi almost

caused that from inside Washu's lab about a month ago?" Ryoko

said, causing a bunch of glares to surface around the table. "Well,

it's true!"

Shaking her head and giggling, Mihoshi started blushing.

"Well anyway, I really hope I find someone soon. Speaking of

which, where are Russ, Aeka, and Sasami?"

"They're all still asleep," Washu said, looking at the

landing on the second floor.

Tenchi and Ryoko both looked surprised. "Wow. I've

never known Sasami to sleep past nine before. She's usually up

and making breakfast by the time we come down here."

"Well," Washu began. "It's because of what is supposed

to happen later today. Russ has to be fully rested for it."

"Spit it out, mother. Quit building suspense," Ryoko

snapped, glaring at her mother.

Washu looked up at her, her face cold, emotionless, and

unwavering. "Zorpheus will arrive today. In fact, in about three

hours."

Tenchi, Ryoko, Kiyone, and Mihoshi all stopped what

they were doing and looked at the scientist in a mix of surprise and

terror. However, Washu resumed eating, as if it were old news.

"He's supposed to be here, TODAY?" Ryoko said,

becoming very nervous. "Why didn't you say something to us

yesterday!?"

"How would it have changed things?" her mom returned.

"We cannot stop him from coming here. Russ is going to have to

deal with him when he arrives, and he wants to be at his maximum

when it comes time to crunch."

"You still should've told us about this, Washu!" Tenchi

snapped, his face a large frown. "This is very important!"

"It's important to Russ, not to the rest of us. He has

repeatedly told us that we will not be involved in their dispute. All

we have to do is stay away from them when they arrive, and leave

them alone once they get into the separate dimension," Washu

explained, sipping her miso soup. "They're far beyond our wildest

dreams, and the smartest thing to do is to stay out of their

business."

"Maybe we shouldn't have come today," Kiyone said,

looking very nervous. "But it is our job to make sure the citizens

of this planet are safe from harm."

"Are you insane, Kiyone?" Mihoshi said, looking

absolutely petrified. "You saw what Russ could do! What do you

expect to do against another person just like him? Arrest him?"

Tucking her hands in her lap, Kiyone looked at the table

and remained quiet.

"Do Aeka and Sasami know?" Tenchi asked, his face

downcast.

Washu nodded her head. "Yes. Russ told Sasami, and

Sasami told Aeka and myself. I scanned the area around the solar

system and I did detect the spacepod that is carrying Zorpheus."

Summoning her laptop once more, she rescanned the solar system,

using the same parameters from the day before. A single blip

appeared on the screen. "He's currently passing Jupiter. At his

current rate of travel, he will enter Earth's atmosphere in about

three hours. Exact time of arrival will be twelve thirty seven."

"How are they taking it?" Ryoko asked, worried.

"They're all sleeping together. Both Aeka and Sasami are

deathly afraid of losing him, and they've stuck to him like glue

yesterday and even slept together overnight," Washu revealed,

eating a clump of rice and then washing it down with soup. "I

really hope everything goes okay today. I have a lot of confidence

in Russ, but even he seems unsure of himself over this one."

Mihoshi smiled. "I think he'll be just fine. I mean, look

how much he's trained while he's been here!" she said, cheerily.

Her happy mood wasn't contagious, and everybody

continued to sit in silence, until they heard some thumping from

upstairs. "Sounds like he's woken up," Kiyone said, quietly.

Hearing the bedroom door slide open and shut again, they

heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming toward the living room.

Everybody looked toward the stairway and waited. A moment

later, Russ started walking down the steps, his hair the usual mess,

still dressed in the clothes from yesterday. He didn't even notice

everybody sitting at the table until he turned toward the bathroom.

Looking up at the family, he smiled and nodded his head.

"Good morning, everyone!" he said, cheerily. "How is

everybody on this fine morning?"

Five thumps greeted his ears as everybody facefaulted to

the floor, completely stunned that he was so happy, cheery, and

easy going this morning. They were figuring on seeing him

completely stressed out.

"Um, did I say something wrong?" he asked, scratching

his head.

"How can you be so relaxed?" Ryoko asked, overcoming

her surprise. "Zorpheus is supposed to come today!"

Russ looked over at Washu, who returned a guilty look.

"I take it our little professor has told you of our impending doom?"

he asked, snickering.

Tenchi's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets that he

was being so casual about it. "What is with you? How come

you're in such a good mood?"

"Why not? In a few hours, I'm going to be involved in

the 'butt kick-o-rama.' I may as well be in a good mood now

because I'm going to probably be in a foul mood later. Oh, hi

Kiyone and Mihoshi. How are you two doing?" he asked, taking

notice to the other two women seated at the table.

"We're fine," Kiyone responded, trying to smile.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take a

shower," he said, heading over to the bathroom. He slid open the

door, which led to the women's bath once again. After shutting it,

he reopened it to the men's bath. Turning around for a moment, he

looked at the five still seated at the table, whom were all staring at

him. "Washu, is there a reason that half the time when I open the

door that it goes to the women's bath?"

"Ask Aeka about that one," she said, grinning.

Russ nodded his head. "I thought so," he said,

disappearing into the bath.

"What the heck just happened?" Ryoko asked, still trying

to figure out Russ's charade. "He didn't look nervous at all!"

"It probably has to do with all that meditating he's done

over the past week," Tenchi described. "He's mentally prepared

for the confrontation, so he's not letting it bother him until the time

comes."

"Still, that was creepy," Kiyone said, still looking at the

bathroom door. "I wonder if he's gone beyond nervous and has

just gone crazy from the stress."

"No, he was completely calm, cool, and collective. He's

back to his normal self for the time being," Washu confirmed,

finishing off the last of her food. "He may feel that this could be

his last day on Earth and he's just trying to live it up."

"I don't know," Tenchi said, resting his head in his hands.

"I'm nervous as heck and I'm not the one who will be fighting."

Mihoshi giggled. "I think he's happy to see Zorpheus

again!"

The other four people at the table stopped to look at her,

causing her to blush.

"Well, he hasn't seen him in a long time," she said,

becoming withdrawn.

"That's true," Ryoko said. "The thing is, Russ has

described him as being very similar to him in terms of his calm and

collectiveness, but he's still worried about what could happen if

Zorpheus blows his stack. I'm really worried too."

"There's really nothing to worry about," Washu said,

sitting back on her hands. "Russ will take care of everything. The

room is complete and will be sealed once they get into it, and

anything that goes on in there will not affect this world. We can

even broadcast it to the rest of the universe if we wanted."

"If they fight, what are we going to do to heal their

injuries?" Kiyone asked.

"The regeneration tank that Russ provided plans for is

complete. It'll heal a man of his size in about a half hour. It's

really an incredible piece of medical technology. It works by"

"I don't care how it works, as long as it heals him

quickly," a voice above them said.

Everybody looked up to see Aeka standing there, dressed

in her traditional blue and purple kimono. Regally making her way

down the stairs, she held herself high and proud. "Besides, he

probably won't need it."

"Good morning, Aeka," Tenchi greeted. "How do you

feel this morning?"

She looked at the group and tried to smile, but failed.

"I've never been so scared of anything in my life," she responded.

"I think that goes for everyone at this table," Washu said,

looking at everybody. "Anyway, I have a few things I must take

care of in my lab. I'll be out around twelve thirty to escort both

Russ and Zorpheus into the battle chamber," she said, making her

way to her lab, opening the door and turning to look at the group

again. "But do not worry. Everything should be fine," she

reassured, stepping through the portal and closing the door behind

her.

Aeka took her usual seat at the table, next to Tenchi.

Everybody remained quiet and tried to not look at the princess, but

she let out so many little nervous habits that they couldn't help but

glance at her. She straightened her kimono, smoothed her hair,

picked at something under one of her nails, continually shifted

positions, and then repeated the whole process again and again.

She could not sit still.

"Aeka, you need to relax," Mihoshi said, cheerily, causing

her to jump.

About to explode on her, Aeka bit her tongue and held

herself back. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm just really worried for

Russ."

A moment later, Sasami bounded down the stairs in a pair

of coveralls, a pink undershirt, and canvas shoes. She had on

multiple, small string bracelets that went around her right wrist,

and she looked drop-dead adorable. Her freckles were very

pronounced, and she looked exactly like a little farmer girl. She

smiled when she saw everybody at the table.

"Hi Kiyone and Mihoshi!" she said, skipping over and

hugging them both. "It's very nice to see you again."

"Hi, Princess Sasami," Kiyone greeted, smiling warmly.

"It's always nice to see you."

Mihoshi hugged her tightly. "I brought a bunch of sweets

for you guys to eat later," she whispered to her, who started

giggling.

"Has everybody eaten? Can I get anybody anything?" she

asked, walking over to the kitchen door, and then turned around.

"I'm fine," both Kiyone and Mihoshi said in stereo, and

everybody else just shook his or her heads.

Turning around, she went into the kitchen to get herself a

glass of milk.

"I wonder what Zorpheus looks like?" Aeka muttered to

herself, still staring at the empty table in front of her.

"Russ says he looks very similar to him, but different

too," Tenchi recalled, scratching his head. But we'll see for sure

later today. I better go tell grandpa." Getting up from the table, he

moved over to the glass door, being followed by Ryoko. "I'll be

back in about ten minutes."

"Okay," Kiyone said, turning her attention back to the

crown princess. "Anyway, I don't think you need to worry all that

much. Russ is unlike anybody I've ever seen. I find it hard to

believe that someone else exists that is exactly like him."

Aeka shook her head. "But he does exist, and he's

coming here," she answered, her face downcast and worried.

"You're going to wrinkle up like an old maid," Mihoshi

said, happily. "You shouldn't worry."

About to explode, Aeka's face became a mask of fury and

rage. "I am NOT an old maid!" she shouted, slamming her fist

down on the table.

"Aeka, please calm down," Kiyone said, trying to head

off the carnage and to protect her partner. "She didn't mean it that

way. She just means that you should relax."

"How can I relax when a planet destroyer is coming

here?!" she retorted, her knuckles becoming white from the intense

pressure.

Kiyone stopped and looked at her, the worry becoming

very apparent on her face. "Russ will stop him if it is the last thing

he does."

"I just hope that ISN'T the last thing he does," she said,

the anger and rage suddenly gone, replaced by a mentality of a

young child who was scared of something horrible.

Sasami came out of the kitchen, holding her milk. "Come

on, Aeka. Have a little faith in Russ."

Looking at her sister, she nodded her head. "You're right

of course, Sasami, but it is so hard to not be worried about him."

"I know. Let's just forget about it for now and wait," she

suggested, sitting down next to her sister. "Everything will work

out in the end, you'll see."

Aeka sighed. "You make it sound so simple, Sasami.

You'll realize what it's like once you get older," she said, resting

her chin in the palm of her hand, looking outside at the scenery.

Standing outside by the lake, Russ stood fast, patiently

awaiting Zorpheus's arrival. He had sensed him almost a half hour

ago, and he knew he'd head straight for the highest power level on

the planet, which would be him. Looking toward the sky, he could

feel Zorpheus's presence get stronger each and every second, and

it made him feel something that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Swallowing a growing lump in his throat, his hands began to

shake, both in anticipation and excitement.

Looking back toward the house, the entire family, not

realizing that Russ was actually waiting for Zorpheus, all remained

inside, talking with each other and relaxing, as if they had

forgotten that danger was heading straight for them. Sighing to

himself, he listened hard, waiting for the sound of Zorpheus's

screaming spacepod, as it would hurtle toward the ground and

crash-land. Zorpheus was never one to be discrete.

It didn't take long, and the sound of the spaceship became

apparent. Sounding like a thousand nails being drawn over a

chalkboard, it was loud, deafening, and made the skin crawl. A

long, red streak drew a line from the horizon, straight to the point

of origin. Russ watched it with a mix of excitement, worry,

anxiety, and hope. It has been nearly two years since he saw

Zorpheus last, and he sincerely hoped this reunion would be good.

Watching the pod make its final run, it finally crash-

landed, right in the lake. A huge tidal wave erupted from the point

of impact, splashing water everywhere and making it rain for a

moment. The loud noise brought the whole family out of the

house, as the noise and impact was earthshaking.

"What on Earth was that?" Aeka yelled, running over to

where Russ was standing.

"Get back!" he shouted, turning toward the oncoming

group. "Get away from here! NOW!"

Stopping their advance, they slowly began to backtrack

toward the house. Everybody went back, except for Aeka.

"I told you to get back," Russ snarled, eyeing her. "I'm

not kidding."

"But"

"NO BUTS!" he yelled, thrusting his finger toward the far

end of the house, where the rest of the family had gathered. "Get

back there and stay there until we're escorted to the room!"

Caught completely off guard by his sternness and anger,

she slowly backpedaled to the house, never taking her eyes off of

him.

Russ turned back toward the lake, watching the surface of

the water calm down. A moment later, a huge rush of bubbles

broke the water's surface, causing Russ to grin. He knew that

Zorpheus opened the hatch while he was underwater and it made

him feel a little better. Not only that, but he himself had done that

once before.

Sensing a huge energy over his head, Russ looked toward

the sky and saw his opponent floating in mid-air, his blue cape

flapping in the wind, his black hair being stirred about, and the

light of day being reflected off of his cybernetic arm. Quickly

returning to the ground, he stood about twenty feet from where

Russ was, his visage contorted with disgust and anger, his red eyes

burning with an inferno of hate.

"Long time, no see, Zorpheus," Russ greeted, his green

karate gi flapping lazily in the light breeze. What brings you here,

as if I didn't know?"

"I'm after the Dragonballs, of course. But right now, I'd

just like to know which of you losers I'm going to slaughter for

putting that damn lake there," he growled, folding his arms over

his chest.

Russ grinned. "That lake was always there. You never

could pilot a ship, even if your life depended on it. I wouldn't

even trust you with a Tie Fighter."

"Kiss my ass. It's never my fault. It's always the stupid

navigation computer screwing up," he snapped. "You should

know that, since you routinely crashed through houses!"

"Humph. It's never your fault is it," Russ sneered,

glaring at him.

"That's Zorpheus?" Ryoko whispered, looking at him

from around the corner of the house. "He looks almost identical to

Russ!"

"You're not kidding. Look how huge his arms are,"

Tenchi said, listening carefully. "I really hope Russ knows what

he's doing."

"Don't worry. Russ will be fine," Aeka said, putting her

best foot forward. "There is nothing that he can't do."

"But still, that guy is going to be one heck of a challenge

for Russ, and besides, he doesn't look exactly happy to see him,"

Tenchi observed, looking at Zorpheus's scowl. "I'd be afraid if I

were in Russ's shoes."

"Shhh! I can't hear," Washu hissed, straining to listen in

on their conversation.

"Who're they?" Zorpheus asked, sensing the group on the

other side of the house.

"Leave them alone," Russ muttered.

"Ain't that cute. Letting the weaklings cower on the other

side of the house, like that flimsy piece of trash will protect them.

Feh. I don't see why there has to be any trouble. Just give me the

Dragonballs and maybe I'll only maim you," Zorpheus taunted,

letting an evil grin slip onto his lips.

Russ's expression became neutral, but his pride was

wounded. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? That's too bad though.

If you want to talk about this further, I have a place where we can

continue this discussion. Follow me," he said, turning toward the

house. Waving with his hand, Washu came out from behind the

house and went inside.

"Yeah right. And I'm supposed to just waltz over to

where you want me so you can blow me up with a bunch of ki

balls that you placed before I got here? No thanks," he answered,

not having moved an inch.

Russ turned around and glared at him. "I'm not like you.

I don't play dirty, I'm not as sneaky, dishonorable, or as pinheaded

as you. You want the Dragonballs? Follow me."

"No. You give them to me now, assmaster. Or I might

decide to make a lunar landscape out of this lovely Japanese shrine

right here and now!" he growled, giving no indication that he

intended on following through on Russ's plan.

Squeezing his hands into fists, he thought a moment.

*This isn't like him at all,* Russ throught to himself. *Most of the

time he'd just go through with it, but something is very different

about him this time.*

"That would be a very bad idea, especially if you want to

convince me to give you the Dragonballs. You should know me

well enough to know that I don't respond well to threats," Russ

returned, giving him his usual poker face, trying to hide his

emotions.

Zorpheus turned away slightly, looking at the corner of

the house where the family was hiding and eavesdropping. "How

do I know you even have them? You seem pretty eager to have me

follow you around like some kind of lap dog when all you need to

do is get your sorry ass in there and come out with my

Dragonballs. You're not exactly in the position to make

conditions, you know."

Russ smirked, folding his arms behind his back.

"Actually, I am. I'm holding what you want, and if you want

them, you'll do as I say. I've got the bargaining chip here, not you.

If you don't want them, I'll get rid of them for you."

Zorpheus's face contorted to an absolute mask of rage.

"Destroy them and I'll make sure that I'll turn this entire pathetic

little country into guacamole. No, I've got a better idea. I'll turn

this entire planet into rubble!"

Feeling surprise but hiding it well, Russ didn't move. "If

you want them, defeat me for them. There is a place where we can

fight unobstructed," he said, grinning. "I'm not turning my home

into what you so quaintly call, 'A lunar landscape,' and destroy

this place. Not even you used to be that cold."

Calming down almost instantly, he smirked, enjoying

himself. "THIS is the home you decided to vacation to? This

place is a dump! I thought you had better taste! This is low, even

for you!"

His face becoming a disgusted frown, Russ then glared at

Zorpheus. "Says the one who goes to titty bars and slum hoses to

get drunk and laid."

"This coming from a man who has no sex drive at all!" he

snarled, clenching his real hand into a fist. A soft, blue glow

surrounded his hand, a testament to the amount of energy gathering

there.

Drawing a breath through his teeth in a hiss, Russ

remembered that the family was very close by, eavesdropping on

the two of them. "I've just about had enough of this. If you want

those damned balls, follow me. If you don't, then leave. I've got

no time to screw with some hotheaded former friend who now gets

pissed at every little thing!" Clenching his own fists at his sides,

he raised his own energy to counter the gathering blast in

Zorpheus's hand.

The glow disappearing, Zorpheus tossed his hand into the

air like some stuck up girl who just brushed off another guy. "Fine

then. I don't care if you choose the battleground. I just want to

kick your ass and get it over with. It's part of the reason I came

here anyway."

"You're still on dream street, as always," Russ muttered,

turning back toward the house, keeping all of his senses locked on

Zorpheus, making absolutely certain that he wasn't going to plant a

ki blast into his back before they got to the house.

Sliding back the glass door, Russ entered then turned

around, letting Zorpheus into the living room. He looked around,

his face still a scowl.

"This place could give Martha Stewart a heart attack.

Who's the decorator, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?" he

sneered, poking one of the chairs with his real finger.

Russ cracked a slight grin, trying to keep from laughing at

Zorpheus's sarcastic sense of humor. Taking notice at a bit of

movement in his peripheral vision, he glanced at the rest of the

family coming around the front of the house, heading for the door.

Feeling his heart beat a little faster, he hoped that Zorpheus

wouldn't do anything violent.

Washu was standing next to her lab door, and she opened

it, gesturing for the two super saiyans to enter. Russ went in first,

followed by Zorpheus, and Washu followed them in. A moment

later, the rest of the family filed into her lab, keeping their distance

and being very quiet, hoping that he wouldn't do anything.

Turning around from the noises behind him, Zorpheus

looked at the rest of the family. Noticing the purple haired

princess, he flashed her a lopsided grin. "And who're you

supposed to be? The housekeeper? You can keep my house

anytime you want to, if you know what I mean," he said, tucking

his thumbs into the lower part of his body armor, shifting them up

and down. He started snickering at seeing her look of surprise,

turning back to follow Russ to their battlegrounds.

Aeka became so enraged that her face turned red and a

vein protruded from her forehead, after he turned around, letting

his words sink into her mind. Balling up her fist and drawing it

back to clobber him, Ryoko grabbed her from behind, holding her

tightly, but Aeka had become much stronger than she used to be,

and it was very difficult to contain the princess's rage. Ryoko

shook her head back and forth like crazy, giving her an emphatic

'NO WAY,' Aeka calmed down enough to stop trying to hit him,

but she still seethed at his rude comment.

Out of sight, Zorpheus grinned, knowing what Aeka was

trying to do. He loved to tease other women from time to time,

and she WAS very beautiful. Even the blue haired woman was

gorgeous. In fact, all the women who followed them into the lab,

including the lab attendant herself, were good looking. Wondering

how Russ fell into a household of women, he scratched his head,

but kept quiet. What a waste of beautiful flesh. He knows what

HE would've done.

Making their way around the lab, squeezing between

computer units, shelves of test tubes, much larger glass tanks, rows

and rows of books, and various other equipment that Washu kept

in her lab, Zorpheus couldn't help but marvel at everything that

was in the lab.

"Now THIS place has potential. Add a fridge, a comfy

couch, maybe a few Borg alcoves in the corner for effect and this

would be a whole lot better place to live than that old shack we just

walked through," he commented, temporarily forgetting about why

he was in there.

Upon hearing his comments, a vein in Washu's head

began thumping as she quietly ground her teeth, burying her pride,

knowing better than to anger someone that was far more powerful

than she could handle, even with all her lab equipment at her

disposal.

After nearly a minute of walking, Russ turned around and

faced the group, but focused his attention only on Zorpheus. "Our

destination is here," he said, reaching out into space. However, a

moment later, a door appeared out of nowhere, which Russ

opened, revealing a bright, cheery place, which was a complete

contrast to the rest of the lab. Walking through it, he turned

around and waited for Zorpheus.

Glancing over his shoulder, then turning to face the

group, Zorpheus bowed, his cape flowing smoothly around him.

"Don't worry, folks. I won't be long, and I'll bring back some raw

meat for your dinner as well," he said, his red eyes reflecting the

light from the adjacent room.

Looking at him in horror, Aeka stepped forward, getting

ready to tear him apart. "Don't you dare hurt him!" she shrilled,

glaring at him with her own amethyst eyes. "If you do, I'll"

"You'll do what, pray tell?" Zorpheus interrupted,

grinning.

Continuing to glare at him, she remained silent and didn't

move, and the rest of the family looked at the two of them

nervously.

Flashing her his most charming smile, Zorpheus turned to

step through the door. "Oh yeah, she digs me," he said, and then

laughed cruelly, mocking her.

Lunging at him again, Aeka looked like the Tasmanian

devil, and sounded almost as coherent. Tenchi grabbed her from

behind, doing his best to restrain her, as she screamed various

insults and obscenities at his retreating form, not realizing that

Sasami and everybody else was nearby.

Russ's fists were clenched tightly enough to crush a piece

of steel, but he held his tongue and watched Washu slam the door

behind Zorpheus, and saw it disappear.

"I can't believe the nerve of that guy!" Aeka yelled, still

seething at Zorpheus. "I hope Russ tears him apart!"

"Aeka! Are you nuts? That guy could've turned you into

vapor had he wanted to, and there would've been nothing we

could've done about it!" Washu yelled, getting into the princess's

face. "Calm down now, or you can leave!"

Falling silent, but still breathing heavily, Aeka's face

returned to its normal color after a few moments as she forced

herself to cool off. Sasami rested her hand on Aeka's arm and she

calmed down further, finally getting herself to relax.

Tenchi and Ryoko looked at each other for a moment,

wondering what to do about Aeka. She had become far stronger

than she used to be, as they could tell when they tried to hold her

back. If she lost her temper again, they thought about what they

could do to hold her back. Maybe having her talk to her mother or

something would keep her mind off of trying to kill someone.

"Aeka?" Tenchi began, following Washu over to the

viewing room.

Turning around, she looked very upset and distressed.

"Yes?"

"Maybe we should contact both Tom and your mom and

broadcast the battle to them. You can talk with them too, if you

wish."

"We should at least contact Tom," Ryoko said, resting her

hand on Aeka's tense shoulder. "He is Russ's friend and I'm sure

he'd want to see him after the fight."

Aeka nodded. "Please do so. Contact both my mother

and Tom and offer to broadcast the battle to the two of them, and

put me in direct contact with my mother."

"I'll do that once we get into the observation room,"

Washu said, entering a part of her lab that looked like a big sphere,

about twenty feet in diameter. The floor was flat, but the rest of

the room was round, complete with yellow gridlines not unlike the

holodeck onboard Tom's Star Destroyer.

"This place will give us a holographic representation of

what will be going on in the other dimension," Washu explained,

summoning her computer and keying in several commands. The

air around everybody shimmered, and then focused in the middle

of the field. They were standing about five feet behind Russ, and

about twenty-five feet from Zorpheus. They could both see and

hear everything that went on in there, but they couldn't feel

anything like the wind or the ground. "The volume will be

reduced once the battle begins," she explained further.

Aeka ran up to Russ and tried to grab him, but she passed

right through him as if he were a ghost. Regaining her footing, she

looked at him in a mix of awe, hope, and fear. It was the second

time she saw him look the way he did, and that look of his

frightened her. It was the same look he had when he fought

against Kain, and mopped the floor with him. However, this

opponent of his was going to be a far greater challenge.

Slowly making her way over to Zorpheus, she stopped

about a foot away from him, looking him up and down, hate

burning within her. The rest of the family followed, getting a

closer look of him too.

Neither saiyan had said anything or even moved up to this

point, as they were just staring each other down, waiting for one or

the other to make the first move.

"This is amazing," Tenchi said, walking around Zorpheus,

trying to poke him. Each time his finger went into the hologram,

the image pixilated around his finger until he removed it. "It's

almost like I'm actually standing next to him. Look at that bionic

arm of his," he said, admiring the cables that were attached to it.

"That's really a sad piece of workmanship," Washu said,

also checking out Zorpheus's arm. "I could make something much

better looking, stronger, and more able than this piece of garbage."

"I wouldn't do him ANY favors," Aeka growled, her eyes

trying to burn holes into the hologram. "Russ is going to pound

you into the ground!" she yelled, getting into Zorpheus's face.

"Aeka! That's enough," Washu said, staring at the

princess. "He can't hear or see you."

"I really hope Russ can beat him," Kiyone said, looking

concerned. "Zorpheus has just about the same amount of muscle

mass as he does."

Everybody became silent, watching and waiting for the

two saiyans to get busy.

The battlegrounds were identical to the place where they

just were, minus the house and shrine. The lake was still there, the

trees were all here, but the place was uninhabited. No buildings,

no nothing. There weren't even any birds or other wildlife there.

It was just a clear blue sky, a light breeze, and dead silence. The

sunlight was bright and intense, and the air temperature inside the

room was at a pleasant seventy-four degrees.

"So this is your digital playground, eh? Where are the

swing sets?" he asked, looking around.

Russ glared at him. "Stuff it, wise guy. This place is real,

but in a different dimension."

Pointing at his eye that had a scar running over it, he

grinned. "The eye implant pretty much tells me that this entire

environment is hardly more than Astroturf."

Thinking a moment, Russ started chuckling. "Then you

need to have it checked. You're becoming more and more like

Darth Vader every time I see you."

"Although I can't say that I'm your father, I can still kick

your whiny farmboy ass," he said, throwing off his cape and

crouching into a defensive stance.

"The only asskicking that will be done here is by yours

truly," he shot back, putting his fists out in front of himself,

preparing to fight, letting his grin fade back into his blank stare.

"When the devil turns the A/C on in Hell, maybe! In case

you never noticed it when we last split ways, I was far more

powerful than you, and on top of that, I'm willing to bet a million

that I still am."

"You're full of it," he returned, suddenly feeling a tinge

of fear, but he quickly buried it. "You and I were almost always

equal. Nothing has changed. I knew you were training and I have

been too," he said, relaxing a little. "It's a shame you set your

mind on immortality. It's the dumbest obsession that you've ever

come up with."

Zorpheus let out an emphatic yawn, enhancing it by

waving his hand in front of his mouth. "Your idealism about

mortality is soooooooo trite. Boundaries were meant to be broken,

and who better to do it than I? Death is just another enemy to be

defeated, and the Dragonballs will give me the power to do it."

Cracking a slight grin, Russ kept himself under control.

"That's what you think."

Narrowing his eyes, Zorpheus's visage changed to a cold,

hard stare. "You're up to something. Spit it out."

"Since we're behind closed doors and locked away, I may

as well spill the beans. I found the Dragonballs and did something

to them that you're not going to be happy about," Russ said,

drawing a curious, but angry look from his opponent.

"I grow tired of your jabbering. You better say what you

did to them while you still have a working jawbone to talk with,"

he growled.

Becoming concerned, Russ scratched his head. "What's

wrong with you anyway? You've become a major jackass since

the last time I saw you. What's going on with you? Why the

impatience? I at least thought you'd be more cool, calm, and

cooperative like you used to be."

"Hello? Anybody home? I'm not going to waste my time

by answering your stupid questions. You are answering mine.

Now here's all you have to tell me, and I'll spell it out for you.

What. Did. You. Do. To. The. Dragon. Balls?"

Sighing to himself, Russ folded his arms over his chest,

drawing himself up to his full height. "You may as well kiss your

dreams of immortality goodbye. The Dragonballs cannot grant

that anymore. Not since I modified them."

His eyes becoming an inferno, his hair rising slightly from

his anger, his eyes bored straight into Russ's. "You did what?" he

said, his voice silent and full of deadly intent.

Looking back at him, Russ cocked his head to the side.

"Do I need to spell it out for you, stupid? The Dragon can NOT

grant immortality anymore. I banished that ability. And you can

forget about wishing for him to regain it too, since I made sure that

wouldn't happen. You lose, Zorpheus," he said, triumphantly.

Zorpheus's eyes went to the land in front of him, his teeth

clenched together with his veins bulging out of his forehead. His

arms went slack and dangled at his sides, but his fists were balled

up into fists so tight that crimson began to drip from his gloves and

fall to the ground.

"Sorry. Cheating destiny and fate is something that I

don't dare do, or let anybody else play with. It is not right and

shouldn't ever be done. Immortality is an evil thing. Frieza

wanted it. Garlic Junior wanted it. Even Cell wanted it. Every

single villain that ever existed wanted it, and you're becoming a

part of it. Is that what you want?" Russ asked, feeling his

adrenaline rise.

Suddenly going completely limp, Zorpheus looked like he

was going to fall over, until he started laughing. It came softly at

first, steadily increasing to the point until he almost started rolling

around on the ground, laughing. Putting his cybernetic hand to his

forehead, he used it to support himself, trying to overcome his

laughing spasms.

Looking at him in complete astonishment, Russ's eyes

became very wide. "Have you lost your mind? What the hell is

wrong with you?"

Finally calming down, a huge grin on his face, Zorpheus

looked at Russ with the most insane visage he had ever mustered.

"I'll be just fine when I skin you alive and feed you to the

vultures!" he screamed, flying wildly at Russ, letting loose a

hailstorm of punches at his head.

"My god, look how fast he is!" Tenchi yelled, watching

Zorpheus sail over to Russ. In nearly an instant, Zorpheus was

planting fist after fist into Russ's body, causing him to stumble

backwards.

"Fight back!" Aeka screamed, watching Russ get

pummeled, Zorpheus's fists going back and forth relentlessly.

Every punch he threw landed, nailing Russ in the face, his chest,

his legs, arms, and stomach.

Watching Russ fall to the ground, the entire family looked

at the spectacle in horror, totally blown away that someone was

able to do what they just did to a man who has never even been

touched, or seemed incapable of harming.

Zorpheus stood over him, his real fist glowing with

energy as he drove it toward Russ's face, but Russ saw it coming

and nodded his head to the side, letting his fist slam into the dirt,

causing the ground to explode from the impact, making dirt, dust,

gravel and rocks go everywhere like shrapnel. The ground inside

the sphere shook, and the sound of rattling metal became apparent.

"What the hell was that?" Ryoko asked, feeling it too.

"I don't understand!" Washu yelled, summoning her

laptop. After keying several commands and taking various

measurements, she looked up at the massive crater Zorpheus just

caused, the dust clearing. "These guys are so strong that the

shockwaves of their battle are able to pass through the sealed

doorway! This was not expected." Typing several additional

things into her laptop, he sighed. "It shouldn't get any worse than

that though. The regular Earth dimension won't feel any of this,

but my lab will."

"Russ is gone!" Sasami said, peering into the crater.

However, she looked up and saw a faint image of another man

standing at the edge of the crater. "Whew, he's safe. Man, he's

fast."

"We haven't seen anything yet," Aeka said, folding her

arms over her chest, standing tall. "Russ wasn't even hurt by all of

that. Everything will be fine. You'll see," Aeka said, feeing very

confident.

Everybody else quieted down and watched the battle

unfold.

"Did you see that?" Misaki said, in complete awe. "I've

never seen anybody move that fast before. Not even Russ did

those kinds of moves while he was here."

The King of Jurai sat back in his throne, his eyes locked

on the viewscreen, completely taken aback over what he just

witnessed. "That is impressive," he said at last.

"I hope Russ can defeat him. They're both just playing

with each other right now," Kamidake said, looking at both Russ's

and Zorpheus's expressions.

Azaka nodded. "They're testing each other, probably to

see how far each of them has progressed," he added. "This is far

from over."

Funaho remained silent, watching the battle.

"Sir! We're ready to go into hyperspace on your mark,"

Sakuya said, sitting behind the helm of the Imperial Star Destroyer

Gray Wolf. "Course laid in for Earth."

Tom saw what Zorpheus did to Russ, and it was only a

matter of giving the order to move out. "Inform the rest of the

fleet to stay here and protect the super star destroyer."

The communications officer relayed the message to the

remaining ships, getting a response from each of them in turn. "It

is done, captain!" he said, looking at Tom.

"Good. Sakuya, take us out. Once we're clear of the

gravity well, enter hyperspace, normal cruising speed."

"Yes sir!" she said, keying the commands into the

console. The ship shuddered slightly and the sound of the engines

coming to life could be heard, as the ship lumbered out of orbit of

Tom's home planet.

"How long until we reach Earth?" Tom asked, sitting

down in his chair.

"Approximately three hours, twenty five minutes."

"Keep a clear signal on the battle between Russ and

Zorpheus. Re-broadcast it through the rest of the ship. Everybody

knows him and they'll want to see the outcome of this battle," Tom

ordered, drumming his fingers together. "You better not lose,

Russ," he muttered under his breath. "That woman is still waiting

for you."

Upon reaching the edge of the planetary system, Sakuya

gave a countdown and upon reaching zero, the ship entered

hyperspace, heading toward Earth.

"Do you feel better now?" Russ asked, standing at the

edge of the crater that Zorpheus caused, his arms folded over his

chest, standing tall. He looked completely unscathed, except for a

little dirt on his clothes.

"The fun is just beginning, dog meat. I hope you're not

counting on mercy, because I am offering none. You will never

again see real sunlight," he threatened, raising his arms in a

protective stance.

Russ frowned. "I don't get it. You used to listen to

reason. Why are you acting like this?"

Zorpheus narrowed his eyes slightly. "You know,

immortality would've saved Laurie." Seeing Russ's surprised

expression, he grinned, launching himself at Russ, trying to

dropkick him in his jaw. However, Russ saw it coming and he

caught both of Zorpheus's feet, and then redirected his momentum

straight into the ground, causing a huge crash.

"You leave Laurie out of this. Fate can be a cruel thing,

but cheating it is even worse!" he yelled, looking at the hole

Zorpheus just created.

Flat on his back, Zorpheus's face became a disgusted

frown. "What a load of bull you're shoveling! You mope around

for years after the fact, yet you claim that giving her the ability to

live through your act of negligence would make you want her less.

You're full of it. You hate death, but you hate life more!" he said,

flying out of his crater and landing a good distance away.

Russ felt his emotions begin to boil at his attacks on his

first love. "The only bull that's being said is what is coming out of

your mouth! I loved Laurie, and at the time, I would've died in her

place!" he yelled, charging Zorpheus, sticking out his knee, trying

to nail him in his gut, but Zorpheus zanzokened away, and

vanished from sight. Stopping his advance, he landed on the

ground, using his senses to try to find Zorpheus, but he lowered his

power to almost nothing and he could just barely make out his

energy. Looking off toward the trees, he could faintly feel

something there, but he couldn't pinpoint it exactly. Crouching

down into a more defensive stance, he patiently awaited for

Zorpheus to make another move.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Russ yelled,

becoming impatient.

Appearing to his left, Zorpheus rocketed straight at his

opponent, his fist outstretched, trying to plow into Russ's face.

Feeling it coming, Russ leaned back to avoid the punch, but he

wasn't fast enough and it caught him high on his cheek, snapping

his head to the side and nearly knocking him over.

"You're better than I remember," Russ said, turning back

to face Zorpheus, who stood about two feet away.

"Am I? Or did living with these weaklings make you

soft?"

His eyes directed straight into Zorpheus eyes, he relaxed

slightly. "Not at all. Actually, I've grown quite accustomed to

their way of life, but it has by no means made me soft. Allow me

to demonstrate," he said, pulling back his fist at such a high rate of

speed that Zorpheus didn't see it, until it smashed into his mouth,

causing him to stagger backward and spit out a mouthful of blood,

a large shockwave emanating from the force of the impact.

Caught off guard, he growled something to himself and

unleashed a small, blue ball of ki at Russ's chest. He saw it

coming and put up both his hands to block it, but as soon as the

ball touched his hands it exploded, enshrouding him in smoke.

The wind was brisk and the smoke blew away quickly, but Russ's

hands were singed and smoking.

"Oww," he muttered, letting a slight grin creep onto his

lips.

"You like that? Here's a few more!" he yelled, pushing

his hands back and forth like pistons, unleashing a barrage of small

ki blasts.

All the balls screamed toward Russ, but just before they

contacted him, he blurred to the side, just far enough to let all the

balls sail harmlessly past. Cupping his hands to the side, blue

energy gathered and glowed intensely, ready to be released. "Eat

this! Kamehame HAAAAA!" he yelled, releasing the built up

energy in Goku's signature move, letting the blue beam roar

toward Zorpheus.

Watching the beam head for him, he leapt into the air a

short distance and let the beam sail under him, then pushed off of

the beam as if playing leapfrog. Twisting his body and spinning,

he let off four small yellow ki blasts, but only one out of the three

got anywhere near Russ. He ducked under it to avoid it, but

Zorpheus grinned, as that was exactly what he was hoping for. All

four balls stopped for an instant, until Zorpheus closed his hand,

causing all four to focus on central point.

Seeing two out of the four balls head at him, Russ put out

his hands and blocked the ones in front of him, but the two that

were behind him smashed into his back, exploding on impact,

knocking him to the ground, burying his face in the dirt. After a

moment, he struggled back to his feet and felt something hot and

sticky on the side of his face. Reaching up to feel it, his fingers

became covered in a small amount of crimson. "I've just about

had enough of this warm-up," he growled, wiping the blood off the

side of his face.

The entire family watched in awe, and was in complete

shock that Russ was actually injured. It was the first time they had

ever seen him shed a drop of blood, no matter what had happened

to him.

"He's hurt," Aeka said, her face pale and filled with

worry. "I've never seen him hurt before."

Washu also looked at him in concern. "Those energy

balls had enough power in them to blow up a mountain. Frankly,

I'm surprised a small cut is all he got from that explosion," she

said, her hand shaking very slightly.

"They're using homemade fireworks!" Mihoshi said,

remembering the ki blasts. "But how come they're not pretty like

the ones we saw at the Startica Festival?"

"Shut up, Mihoshi!" Kiyone yelled, looking fearfully at

Aeka, who looked about ready to kill her. "This isn't the time for

your stupidity!"

Ryoko and Tenchi both watched the event in amazement.

They had both been trying to follow their movements around, but

at points, they moved too fast, even with their enhanced senses.

Seeing more and more of what these two warriors were capable of,

they began to wonder if there were still others that were just as

powerful as they were, if not stronger.

"Can you believe this?" Tenchi asked, looking at Russ,

who finally returned to his feet, his visage a mask of anger and

impatience.

"I'm scared, Tenchi. I'm really, really scared. People

used to cower in fear over me when I was a space pirate, but these

guys make that look like a grain of sand on the beach," she said,

holding onto Tenchi. "I'm so glad Washu made that separate

dimension for them to fight in."

Tenchi nodded. "Even with them being in that separate

dimension, some of their energy is bleeding through the sealed

doorway and affecting this dimension. Just their punches are

enough to slightly shake the floor in here, and their energy blasts

almost feel like a small earthquake, and they're not even warmed

up yet!"

"When I sparred against Russ, he'd only use his energy to

distract me, and he'd never attack me with it. This is the first time

I've seen him turn that energy on another man," she said,

worriedly. "He's really serious about stopping him, and Zorpheus

is bent on killing him!"

"Second time, actually. Remember what he did to Kain?

Remember the size of that energy blast?" Tenchi said, his eyes

growing a little wider. "I don't even think that was the peak of his

power either. Even though the blasts that he's thrown so far have

been smaller, they're almost as powerful. Look at the ground

where the Kamehameha wave went over," he said, pointing to a

bare strip that went from Russ's former position to where Zorpheus

was standing a little while ago. "His energy never even touched

the ground, but look what it did to it."

"Russ will win," Aeka said again, eavesdropping on both

Tenchi and Ryoko. They turned around and looked at her, and she

had nothing but an aura of confidence around her. "He will not

fail. He promised us that everything would be okay."

"That's right," Sasami said, standing next to her sister, her

face determined. "He promised me that he wouldn't die and he

promised me that all of us will be safe. I've never known him to

lie so I believe him," she said, clenching her small fists together.

"But it wasn't supposed to be this way!" Ryoko said,

pointing at Zorpheus. "He's supposed to be almost like Russ, or so

he said. He's far meaner, more callus, and evil than even Russ

thought he was!"

"I don't understand it," Aeka said, shaking her head.

"But Russ will stop him. I have faith in him, and not only that, he

has a second reason to win."

Looking at Aeka in curiosity, the family waited for her to

explain herself. Misaki and Funaho were also listening in on their

conversation, wondering what Aeka was going to say.

"Russ will be my boyfriend if he wins," she finally said,

drawing awestruck expressions from everybody around the room.

"You're kidding!" Misaki yelled, her face filling the

viewscreen, but Asuza frowned deeply. "He finally said he'd date

with you!?"

Aeka nodded, blushing, and smiling. "Yes. He told me

last night. I almost didn't believe it at first, since he has done

nothing but reject me up until now, but it came as the most

pleasant surprise I could've ever had."

Sasami gasped, looking at her with renewed hope. "He's

going to stay with us?" she asked, tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Is he really going to stay here and be my big brother?"

Nodding her head, Aeka smiled. "Yes. My wish has

finally been realized, and I couldn't be happier."

"That barbarian has no business" Asuza began, but

wound up finding a pair of hands over his mouth, and two very

stern glares aimed at him. Glancing back at the viewscreen, both

Misaki and Funaho grinned.

"Good luck with him, Aeka," Misaki congratulated.

"We'll come to visit you and vacation with you for a little while,

and to properly congratulate you two and give you our blessings,"

she said, smiling, tears at the edges of her amethyst eyes. "My

little girl is growing up so fast"

"Mother!" Aeka yelled, becoming embarrassed.

"It looks like they're ready to begin fighting again,"

Washu indicated, watching Russ clench his fists at his side, glaring

at Zorpheus. "Round two."

Zorpheus started laughing. "This is getting amusing!"

"You sick little monkey," Russ spat, raising his fists.

"You always were a slightly better fighter and I can see you

learned a few new tricks, but I am still the stronger one."

Shaking his head, Zorpheus spat out a small amount of

leftover blood from Russ's punch. "And you're always quick to

throw around your raw power, but you never take the time to learn

how to fully use it. Too bad for you, because I still remember me

being the stronger one before we parted ways, and unless flower-

sniffing gave you some added strength while you were here, you're

a very far cry from where I am now," he sneered, proudly.

Russ narrowed his eyes, deciding to call Zorpheus's bluff.

"You have no idea how far I've progressed. I'll take that

arrogance of yours and shove it where the sun don't shine in a

minute."

"Talk, talk, talk. Do it already," he shot back, folding his

arms over his chest.

As if turning on a light switch, a huge golden flash

erupted around Russ, causing chunks of the land to break apart and

float up into the air, creating a whirlwind of dust, dirt, and debris.

The sky darkened slightly, turning an eerie shade of green. Yellow

lightning danced around Russ, striking the ground and arcing

through the air like a tesla coil, until the earthquake started. More

of the ground broke apart and began to crater under Russ, where

the intenseness of his energy forced the ground under him to give

way. The sound of Russ's voice echoed for miles around, as his

aura expanded a little more, completely engulfing him in golden

flame. His hair flashed an aura of yellow for an instant, and then

changed over completely, all the spikes of his hair now standing

upright, except for a few which dangled in front of his face.

Completing his transformation, his black eyes changed to a

beautiful shade of green, which looked exactly like the sea on a

sunny day. His transformation now complete, his aura contracted

back to normal, still pulsing around him, causing his clothes to flap

in the wake of his energy.

Russ glared at Zorpheus, ready for round two. "It's time

to show you what I've learned."

Zorpheus smirked, clenching his own fists. A gigantic

explosion erupted from where he was standing, also surrounding

him in bright, gold energy. The sound of his voice carried as far as

Russ's, the cry of pain, excitement, and rage. Pebbles rose off of

the ground, surrounding Zorpheus, and then disintegrated. More

chunks of the Earth broke apart and rose up, racing away from his

position, sandblasting the landscape, turning it rough, barren, and

lifeless. Even the mountain was being eroded away from the force

of Zorpheus's energy, and the resulting earthquake was causing it

to crumble.

Standing tall, not flinching in the slightest, Russ patiently

waited for Zorpheus to complete his transformation. Feeling his

energy climb above his own, he remained steadfast, wondering

when he was going to stop.

His energy pulsing around him, his hair tall and golden,

his one good eye a sea green and his bionic eye still red, Zorpheus

stood fully transformed, an arrogant smirk on his face. "Bring it

on, fanboy."

Russ grinned as well, the excitement of battle coursing

through every fiber of his being. 'Got to end this quick,' he

thought to himself. His energy expanding around him, he leapt off

of the ground and poured a huge amount of energy into flying,

causing the ground he stood on to explode from the incredible

force, and raced at Zorpheus. Stopping directly in front of him, he

brought his foot up directly between Zorpheus's legs with all the

force he could muster.

Sounding like a bomb went off, Russ's foot stopped short

of Zorpheus's crotch by about an inch, his foot suspended in

midair, a result of his foot colliding with a ki barrier.

"What the hell?" he said, stunned that his surprise attack

failed.

Zorpheus didn't flinch. Casually raising his bionic arm,

he swung it at Russ's head, trying to backhand him away.

However, he missed as Russ vanished, just in the nick of time.

"You didn't just attack there," Zorpheus said, sounding

like Booker T. "TELL ME, you didn't just attack there!"

"And you talk about me being a fanboy!" Russ sneered,

appearing a dozen paces away in mid-air and rubbing his ear, a

result of windburn from Zorpheus's swing. "When did you start

doing that anyway?"

Grinning to himself, Zorpheus brought his arms up in a

boxer's stance. "Women, like underhanded little pukes such as

yourself, can be a tad unpredictable, so it's a little reflex I've

developed."

Landing on the ground, Russ shook his head. "Why am I

not surprised? You've been kicked there quite a few times, right?"

"Exactly thirty seven times" he muttered, holding up

his index finger on his good hand.

Russ's eyes bulged at hearing the number, and then he

started laughing. "Speaking of which, you would've achieved

number thirty eight if Aeka wasn't restrained by both Ryoko and

Tenchi."

Frowning, Zorpheus didn't find any of it funny. "I don't

recall ever asking you for your opinion on my love life, castrate

boy."

"I just care more about a girl's feelings, pervert. I don't

let my crotch do the talking, unlike some people," Russ sneered,

crouching down.

"Instead, you let your ass do the talking, you son of a

bitch!" Vanishing then re-appearing off to Russ's left, he raced

toward his target, his elbow outstretched, trying to nail Russ in his

jawbone. However, Russ saw it coming and he ducked, letting his

momentum carry him over Russ's head, but then Russ tried to

plant his fist in his own face in a vicious uppercut.

"At least it doesn't stink like your crotch!" Russ shouted,

following through.

Leaning back to avoid it, he redirected his momentum and

streaked back at Russ, trying to knee him in his stomach. "That's

the smell of a man! No wonder it stinks to you because you only

have yourself to compare to!"

Zanzokening out of sight to avoid the knee, he reappeared

behind Zorpheus's back, his fists clenched together as he brought

both his hands down toward his opponent's head in a double axe-

handle. "Your crotch gets kicked far more than mine does," he

shot back. "I'm still at zero and I intend to keep it there! My way

is far more comfortable to me, you pervert!"

Strafing out of the way of Russ's fists, he feigned an

attack at Russ's knees, and then changed his leg's direction into a

snap kick at his head. "You're also at zero in your sex life, so

that's not surprising!"

"I'm saving myself for the woman of my dreams!" Russ

yelled, leaning back, feeling the wind of Zorpheus's foot sailing

past. Spinning around in reverse, he swung his own leg at

Zorpheus's feet in an attempt to knock his legs out from under him

in a leg sweep. "I hold a much higher value on love and sex than

you ever will!"

"How can you find a woman at all if all you do is avoid

them like a pansy!?" Flipping backwards and away from Russ's

attack, he stopped himself in mid-air, and then flew at Russ,

spinning with both his feet directed at his opponent's chest.

Seeing it coming, Russ blurred out of the way, just as

Zorpheus would've made contact, and re-appeared in the same spot

just as Zorpheus cleared the area. His yellow aura expanding

around him, he took off after Zorpheus, trying the same spinning

heel kick. "Who says I avoid them?! Just who do you think I've

been living with for the past year?!"

"That doesn't matter! You're still at zero!" Flipping

backwards and performing several handsprings to get away from

him, Zorpheus righted himself and sent a small ki ball back at

Russ, trying to catch him off-guard. "You're hopeless!"

"There is a reason I'm still at zero, you pervert!" Russ

shouted back, watching the ki ball sail at him. Using his left hand,

he swatted the ball away like a bug, where it exploded into the

mountainside, sending debris everywhere. After a moment, Russ's

energy exploded around him and he hurtled himself toward

Zorpheus, throwing a small ki blast just in front of him. He then

twisted himself to dropkick his former friend in the chest, sailing at

him at an insane speed.

"Yeah! It's because you're a castrated wuss with zero sex

drive who can't handle one unfortunate twist of fate!" Zorpheus

yelled, putting his hands out to stop the ki blast. Catching the ball,

he rebounded it and sent it screaming back at Russ. Seeing the

surprised look on Russ's face, he watched him abort his kick, but

his forward momentum kept him coming at him. Grinning, he

simply placed his fist out in front of him, waiting for Russ to

simply run into it.

Quickly throwing his arm out to the side, Russ let loose a

large beam that changed his direction to the left a little. Cutting off

the beam but keeping his arm outstretched, he changed his folly to

a clothesline attack. "You think you've got me all figured out,

don't you, smartass!?"

Dropping himself to the ground, he completely avoided

the clothesline. "Maybe it's because you're so damn predictable!"

Flipping himself into a vertical handstand, he launched himself at

an angle to hit Russ with his feet.

Looking behind himself, he saw Zorpheus's feet coming

straight for him. Speeding himself up to avoid the kick, he blasted

off into the sky, climbing several hundred feet in a matter of

seconds, where he stopped, spun around, and waited. Putting his

arms in front of himself, he blocked the dropkick, also stopping

Zorpheus's advance. "Like you have any room to talk, you jerk!"

Russ shouted, grabbing hold of Zorpheus's feet, spinning around

like a top, and then launching him back toward the ground.

Powering up his energy, he released a hailstorm of ki balls from

his hands, all of which followed Zorpheus's descent.

Still spinning toward the ground, he heard the launch of

the many little blasts. Quickly righting himself just before

impacting the ground, landing in a crouched position, he turned

himself around, now holding a large, broad blade. It was around

three feet long, but it was about four inches wide, and the blade did

not shine like most, but instead, was a dull, gray color. The hilt

had a violet jewel, and it looked like the Demon Sword out of

Record of Lodoss War. Spinning the blade once, he proceeded to

deflect every single ki blast that came near him, each of them

careening off in some wild direction, all of them exploding once

they hit the ground, causing a massive earthquake. Several of the

blasts were deflected straight back at Russ, and he had to

discontinue firing them to avoid his own ki balls. The final blast

heading at Zorpheus, he positioned himself in a familiar baseball

stance, holding his sword over his shoulder. "BATTER UP!" he

yelled, slamming the blast with the broad side of his sword,

sending it screaming back at Russ at outrageous speed.

"What the hell?!" Russ yelled, putting his hands out in

front of him. The ki ball exploded upon impacting upon his hands,

enshrouding him in smoke. The wind was still blowing briskly and

it cleared the smoke quickly, and it revealed Russ who still

remained unscathed, aside from his smoldering palms. Looking

down on Zorpheus who was still holding his sword, he slowly let

himself back down to the ground, checking out the blade. "I see

you got a new Schwartz," he said, touching down. "How the hell

did it block a ki ball? Any normal sword would've been

vaporized!"

"Well, in traveling across the galaxy, you can find some

pretty amazing stuff. Things such as cortosis ore are one of the

many finds on my journey here. You know what it is, don't you?"

he asked, grinning. "It makes for a great ball game. I'd let you try

it out, but you're liable to trip over and kill yourself with it with

your embarrassing inexperience at using weapons." He then

chuckled. "I should still let you try it. It'll make my job a lot

easier."

Now grinning himself, Russ brought his right hand out in

front of him. "I too have learned some new tricks since we last

parted," he said, a green ball of energy forming within his palm.

Squeezing it, the ball deformed and flashed into a six-foot staff,

letting out a hum not unlike a Jedi lightsaber. "It's time to show

you how good I've become with a staff," he added, swinging it

around his body, and then bringing it to rest in front of him, his

green eyes staring straight into Zorpheus's face.

Rolling his eyes, Zorpheus slapped himself on his

forehead with his free hand. "Oh give me a break. Why don't you

pull your pants down so I can see your Jar Jar Binks underpants

now, you fanboy," he said, assuming a guard stance with his

sword.

"Laugh it up, pervert. Let's see how your sword stands

up against this!" Russ yelled, heading straight for Zorpheus, the

staff over his head to make a decapitating swing at Zorpheus.

Batting out of the way as if it were a fly, Zorpheus

redirected his sword directly at Russ's throat, intending on giving

him a whole new hole to breathe out of.

Spinning the staff with the force of the blow, Russ was

able to block the sword shot at his neck, causing a shower of

sparks from the ki staff contacting the cortosis sword.

Zorpheus pulled his sword back, then drove it forward,

straight at Russ's chest. Thinking that Russ might see it coming,

he changed directions at the last nanosecond and went for putting

the blade into Russ's side.

Moving to block the sword shot at his chest with his staff,

he saw Zorpheus change directions at the very last moment, and it

forced him to strafe out of the way, his staff too far out of position

to be of any use.

Quickly seizing a moment, Zorpheus moved forward,

making dozens of little jabs with his sword, all of which were

being blocked skillfully by Russ's staff. It moved so fast that all

that could be seen was a green blur, and it could've passed for a

solid shield of color. Using the jabs as only a distraction, he

blurred to another spot and restarted his fast offense, again, making

many little jabs at various parts of Russ's body. Just as he thought

Russ was suckered into the pattern, he pulled his sword back and

let it go, full force, into Russ's face.

Seeing the sword coming, Russ could also see Zorpheus's

face contort with added strain, a testament to the force behind the

blow. Nodding his head to the side, letting the blade almost give

him a shave on the left side of his head, he spun his staff around

and took a swing at Zorpheus's feet.

Zorpheus saw it coming and swung his sword to block it,

causing another loud clang and a big shockwave from the impact.

After each weapon contacted each other, Russ used the opposite

side of the staff to try to club Zorpheus in his head, but Zorpheus

was too fast and blocked each of those shots too. Trying it again

and again, then altering his offense slightly to try to jam the end of

his pole into Zorpheus's head, he forced him to retreat into the air.

Grinning slightly, he swung the staff around his body once, pointed

the end at Zorpheus, and chuckled. "Powerpole, extend!" he

yelled, as the staff expanded in length, heading straight for his

opponent at amazing speed.

"Heh, Heh, Heh. He said, 'extend!'" Taking his sword

with both of his hands, he swung it hard against the staff at just the

right moment, throwing Russ off-balance from the sudden

pressure. His energy glowing about him, he shot back down

toward Russ, his sword pointed directly at him.

"You're such an IDIOT!" Russ yelled, jumping to the

side, letting his staff fade into oblivion. Just as Zorpheus touched

the ground, missing with his charge, he reformed the staff, and

then took a shot at Zorpheus's chest.

"Yes, I am an idiot, and I worship stupidity. You are my

new god!" Bringing the sword in front of him, stopping the staff

with the broad side of his blade, he swung around and brought his

foot up to kick Russ in his head.

"A stupid is, a stupid does!" Russ shot back, grinding his

teeth at all the insults, ducking under the roundhouse Zorpheus was

attempting. Before he finished his follow-through though, Russ

took his staff and swung it at his leg that was still on the ground,

trying to trip him.

Glancing down, Zorpheus saw what he was trying to do,

and with a technique worthy of Rob Van Dam, he lifted his other

foot, just as the staff whizzed by, and positioned his foot for

another kick at Russ's face. However, instead of actually kicking

him, he took both of his legs and tried to grab Russ around the

neck, using a leg scissor technique that he had seen once before on

TV.

Watching both legs head straight for his head and neck,

Russ blurred out of the way, narrowly missing the chokehold.

Reappearing directly in front of Zorpheus, his face no further than

three inches from his opponent's, he clenched his right fist and

went to bury it in Zorpheus's gut.

Shuffling to the side, he wound up his cybernetic arm and

punched Russ's fist, the impact of both hands causing a gigantic

shockwave that rumbled the ground, stinging Russ's fingers. "The

spirit is willing but the flesh is weak," he said, grinning

sadistically.

"Says you, Vader," Russ returned, shaking his hand from

the pain of the impact. Spinning his staff, he began to take many

short and fast swings at all parts of Zorpheus's body, all of which

were being speedily blocked by Zorpheus's sword, showers of

sparks erupting from each and every impact. Thinking he finally

got Zorpheus distracted enough with the many quick jabs and

swings, he wound up and swung his staff like a baseball bat,

directly at Zorpheus's head.

Seemingly not put off by Russ's change in speed, he

ducks the staff, hearing it whip over his head, and in a heartbeat, he

clenched his sword with both hands once again, bringing the sword

down in a hard slash directly at Russ's exposed shoulder.

Splitting the staff into two halves, Russ quickly put one of

the swords in between his shoulder and Zorpheus's blade, blocking

it in the nick of time. Taking the second half of the staff, he swung

it upward, intending to slice Zorpheus in half from the ground up.

Leaping into the air, he spread his legs wide, as if inviting

Russ to split him in half. However, as the green sword came close

to contacting him, a loud shockwave erupted from colliding with

his groin shield. "That had a nice tingle!" Zorpheus taunted,

bringing his sword up and slashing downward at Russ, as he began

descending from his leap.

"Oh, you are SO dead," Russ snarled, using his other

sword to block Zorpheus's overhead shot. At the same time, he let

go of the sword caught between Zorpheus's legs and gathered up a

significant amount of energy in his now free hand, pointing it at his

opponent's chest, just as Zorpheus came down and contacted his

second sword. "Masenko, HAAAA!" he yelled, releasing the

yellow beam.

Bringing his sword down in front of him, he angled his

blade off to the right, creating a forty-five degree angle in between

himself and Russ. The beam slammed into the sword and

ricocheted off, careening off into the horizon, where the beam

finally dropped to the ground and exploded, creating a gigantic

mushroom cloud and shaking the ground in an Earthquake that San

Francisco could only dream about. Grinning, Zorpheus didn't

even look like he put any effort into deflecting the beam. "Give it

up. As long as I have this sword, your ki attacks are effortless to

deflect." Pointing the edge of the blade back at Russ, he swung it

forcefully at Russ's side using both of his hands.

"Then I'll just have to get rid of it!" Russ yelled,

reforming his second sword and blocking Zorpheus's offense with

both blades, forming an X to catch his opponent's sword within

his. After all three blades impacted, a power struggle ensued, with

Zorpheus putting a tremendous amount of pressure on his blade,

trying to make Russ give way, but Russ wouldn't back down and

he pushed back, neither gaining any ground on the other. After a

moment, Russ's face contorted into a lot of strain, and with using a

tremendous amount of strength, he threw Zorpheus off of him,

sending him into the air. Russ quickly followed, his swords at the

ready.

Stopping in midair, about a hundred feet above the

ground, he saw Russ coming up to him. Grinning, he swung his

sword in a circle once, grabbed the hilt with both hands once again,

and brought it down toward Russ using all of his strength,

intending to slice him in half.

Expecting this, Russ took both of his swords, placed them

against each other, and then made a horizontal slash, putting all the

force he could muster against the broad side of Zorpheus's blade.

A massive shockwave exploded from the point of impact, and

Zorpheus's sword broke in two, unable to withstand the force that

Russ put into his swing. Only a mere quarter of the blade

remained on the hilt. "How's that?" Russ taunted, breathing

heavily.

Backpedaling a few meters, Zorpheus looked at his

broken sword in disbelief. After a moment, his face became a

cold, hard stare that could've frozen Haiti "Nrrrggggg YOU

IDIOT! Do you have any idea how long it took me to find enough

Cortosis to make a sword?! And how far away the planet that has

it is?!"

Letting his own swords disappear, Russ shrugged his

shoulders. "Nope. Don't care, really. You told me that your

sword could deflect ki attacks and it did do that well, so you

basically told me what I had to overcome. Wasn't too difficult,

actually," Russ taunted, grinning.

Tightening his fists, Zorpheus let out a roar of frustration,

his yellow ki now burning brightly around him. Taking what was

left of the sword, he hurled it at Russ at breakneck speed with the

aid of his cybernetic arm. Russ swatted it away easily, but then

realized that the technique was merely a distraction as Zorpheus

split himself into four separate entities. All four rushed him at

once and then began zanzokening around him in a frenzy.

Everywhere Russ looked, there were dozens of afterimages of

Zorpheus and it was impossible to tell which one was real and

which one was not. One of the real Zorpheus's emerged from the

storm of images and slammed Russ on the head, hard, with a

double-axe handle, sending him down to the ground, creating a

devastating impact that left another large crater, with Russ directly

in the middle of it. Satisfied, all four duplicates of himself merged

back into one, and the one was breathing heavily, a show of how

much effort he put into his attack.

"That's the first shot either of them have scored on each

other since becoming Super Saiyans," Tenchi said, looking down

at Russ, who wasn't moving. "They've been going at it for almost

a half hour. Incredible."

Aeka looked like she was ready to faint, her face very

pale and wrinkled with worry and concern. She knew in her heart

that the blow Zorpheus dealt Russ wasn't enough to put him down

for good, but it was scary to know that Zorpheus got in the first

shot.

After all that training, all that exercising, straining,

meditating, and concentration, Russ looked to be losing the battle

at present moment. She could see that Zorpheus was a slightly

better fighter, in the sense that he didn't expel as much energy as

Russ had during their scuffles, and he limited his movements as

much as possible, at least, as far as she could actually see. At

points, the two warriors moved so fast that they couldn't be seen

by the naked eye or even with her enhanced senses, and the only

telltale signs of battle were the incredibly huge shockwaves that

exploded seemingly out of nowhere. Each punch, blast, kick, or

other physical contact between the warriors triggered a minor

earthquake within the lab, and when Russ shot his Masenko beam

at Zorpheus, the lab felt like it was going to fall apart. Washu was

very concerned, as she never expected both warriors to expel the

seemingly endless supply of energy and strength that they had.

Their strength, speed, and power, was nothing short of

preposterous and godlike. Not even Washu, who had been around

for over twenty centuries, could recall a pair of warriors who

displayed such radical strength and speed.

The ki attacks both warriors were very new and different,

as Aeka recalled some her past experiences, remembering some of

the battles she had seen. This was the first one that she had

witnessed where someone made an attack that was an actual beam

of energy. Most of the time, when she watched two people fight

out their differences, the attacks were short, small balls of energy

that would explode on contact. Once it left their hand, they had no

control over it, and nobody had enough stamina to keep their

energy focused into a single, prolonged attack. But Zorpheus and

Russ were able to do it effortlessly. It was nothing short of

incredible and scary.

Looking back down on Russ's broken form, a tear came

to her eye. She looked down to see the pain on his face, and how

he didn't seem to want to move. She had never seen him hurt

before, or even scratched. She almost wondered what color his

blood was, since she had never seen it. Clenching her fists

together, she tried to keep from collapsing in on herself, her heart

falling into a pit of despair and worry.

"Aeka? Are you alright?" Sasami asked, looking into her

sister's forlorn face. "Aeka?"

Blinking her eyes, she looked into Sasami's face, and

nearly lost all of her self control. "Russ is losing," she cried,

falling to her knees. "He's losing!"

"It was just one shot, Aeka," Ryoko said, coming up to

her. "He's a hell of a lot tougher than that. Have some faith.

He'll pull through," she said, resting her hand on Aeka's shoulder,

smiling down into her face, doing her best to give her hope.

"How could someone be just as powerful as Russ? This

is insane!" she yelled, burying her face in her hands. "We Jurians

went unchallenged for thousands of years, and these two just show

up out of the blue and have basically set our impenetrable standard

to waste. This almost seems impossible. They're not even gods

and they're stronger than anything I've ever seen or even heard

of!"

Watching her and listening to her outburst, Tenchi knelt

down next to her, resting his arm on her shoulder, in much the

same way Ryoko was doing. "He'll be okay, Aeka. Look," he

said, pointing at Russ, who was now dragging himself to his feet,

shaking the cobwebs out of his head, blood trickling out of the

corner of his mouth.

What Aeka saw sent chills down her spine. He was

actually grinning and looked like he enjoyed the attack Zorpheus

made on him, and he was wanting more. "Why is he smiling?" she

asked, her eyes wide, her hands shaking.

"I'm scared!" Mihoshi yelled, grabbing Kiyone around

the waist, squeezing with all of her might.

"Let go of me, Mihoshi!" Kiyone shouted back, trying to

push her partner off of herself, but Mihoshi shook her head and

held on tightly. "Stop it! I can't breathe!"

"No, no!" Mihoshi whined. "I'm too scared!"

"They can't hurt us here!" Kiyone grunted, straining to

break her partners iron grip. Finally getting her arms to slide off,

she started to backpedal, but Mihoshi grabbed her around her right

leg, holding on for dear life. "Give me a break!"

Shaking her head, Ryoko turned her attention back to

Russ, who stood tall, looking up at Zorpheus with a chilling grin.

Having been in many, many battles in her life, she had never

known anyone to smile after being pounded like that. "Is he

masochistic?"

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT?!" Aeka shouted,

standing up, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "He is most

certainly NOT masochistic!"

"You called me that when you were torturing me onboard

your ship, your highness," Ryoko reminded her, as she recalled

how she laughed when the Guardians had tried to electrocute her.

"This isn't the same thing!" she yelled back, thrusting her

finger in his direction. "He explained it to me and everybody else,

but it's still unsettling to see it."

Tenchi nodded his head. "Yeah, that's true. But at least

you're back to normal for the moment. But, maybe you should

leave. I think this fight is upsetting you a lot, Aeka, and the best

thing I can recommend to you is to actually not watch"

"I'm staying," she said, staring directly into Tenchi's

eyes. "There isn't a damn thing you can do to make me leave

either."

"But I'm only"

"I don't want to hear it," she returned, walking away from

Tenchi and toward Washu.

Tenchi stood there, blinking his eyes in surprise. "What

just happened?"

"She just brushed you off. But you know, I would've

done the same thing if it were you in there," she explained, keeping

her voice low. "Actually, I'd probably be in there with you."

Looking at her, Tenchi smiled. "I know. It doesn't

matter what we're up against, but I know you'll be by my side

against any foe."

Coming close to each other, Tenchi wrapped his arm

around Ryoko's waist, and she put her arm around his shoulders,

as they both watched Russ and Zorpheus prepare to fight once

again.

"Heh. Funny how you're still grinning even though your

favorite toy has been busted," Russ said, looking at his opponent,

who floated about a hundred feet up into the air.

"There will always be new toys to play with, but the look

on your face when you were smashed down to the ground was

priceless and irreplaceable. Speaking of toys, allow me to show

you another one!" he yelled, pointing his cybernetic arm at Russ.

A latch unhitched itself from within the wrist and the hand

swiveled out of the way, grabbing hold of the arm with its fingers.

Inside, eight small holes presented themselves from behind the

hand, matching the pattern of a gatling gun. A glow appearing in

the top hole, a tiny ki blast raced out of it and screamed toward

Russ at an alarming rate, and a second ball followed it up from the

hole going clockwise. Shoving a generous amount of energy to his

arm, Zorpheus opened up and began spraying the area with

thousands of tiny ki balls, perfectly resembling Android 16's own

blasters.

His eyes widening in surprise, Russ jumped out of the

way just as the first ki blasts slammed into the ground, building up

explosion after explosion. "When the hell did you get THAT

installed?!" Russ yelled, flying back into the air, doing his best to

avoid the super high speed, miniature blasts. Keeping the distance

between himself and Zorpheus almost constant, he made a mistake

of moving in a direction that Zorpheus predicted and he wound up

getting pelted by dozens of the blasts, causing burn marks all over

his clothes. Cracking a grin and laughing, Zorpheus intensified the

tiny blasts, enjoying himself, watching Russ run away like a rabbit.

Getting irritated at avoiding all the blasts, Russ charged up and

fired a small green ball of ki at Zorpheus, in an attempt to distract

him. Faltering for a moment, the distraction worked, and it gave

him an opportunity to start a barrage of his own, making his

fingers into makeshift pistols, and then firing purple beams out of

both of his fingers and his eyes, the same attack Frieza used

against Goku.

Instead of making a move to dodge them, Zorpheus

reattached his hand, put his hands together to form a triangle, and

centered the hole on Russ. "Right on target. KIKOHO

HAAAAAA!" he yelled, letting loose a huge, yellow beam. It

hurled its way directly at his goal, absorbing the smaller blasts

from Russ as if they were fleas.

Seeing this, Russ quickly put two fingers to his forehead,

watching the beam come closer and closer, charging his energy at a

dangerous rate. Blue sparks came from the tips of his fingers and

then glowed yellow with a purple outline. With the Kikoho beam

almost on him, he thrust his fingers forward, grinning.

"Makenkosappo!" he yelled, Piccolo's signature move blasting out

of his fingertips with radiant purple and yellow energy,

corkscrewing straight into the Kikoho, the impact of both beams

creating a massive explosion worthy of the first nuclear bomb

dropped on Hiroshima. The entire area became blinding yellow

light, trees were being blasted away like toothpicks, and the ground

was being sandblasted bare and lifeless. The craters that were

made were replaced by one huge depression, going some five

hundred feet deep. The mountain was blown clean away, leaving

only large boulders spread as far as the eye could see, the path

going away from the blast site. Rumbling nearly a minute after the

impact, the noise from the original contact was nothing short of

deafening. The entire area of what used to be a beautiful Japanese

shrine now looked like a barren desert, dead and without life. As

the last of the noise went away, it became deathly quiet, aside from

the sound of the wind blowing the dust about.

Russ was thrown down to the ground from the shockwave

of the blast, his face, arms, legs, shirt, and pants all loaded with

cuts and abrasions. He almost looked like he went through a

carwash, without a car. Crimson seeped from many of the wounds,

stinging pain coming from each and every one of them as his salty

perspiration ran into the wounds, becoming red itself. Dragging

himself to his feet, his chest hurting from the blast impact, he

coughed once and spat up a mouthful of blood, spitting it off to the

side. Clearing his throat, he stood silently, and waited.

On the other side of the crater, Zorpheus picked himself

up out of his depression, and he didn't look too much better. His

body armor was torn in many places, the armor plating was all but

gone, and crimson seeped from many of the cuts and contusions.

He had a gash on his cheek under his real eye, and his nose was

running red blood. Straining and grinding his teeth against the

pain, he returned to his feet at the same moment Russ stood up,

then both looked at each other in the eyes, and grinned.

Washu, Aeka, Ryoko, Tenchi, Sasami, Kiyone, and

Mihoshi all picked themselves up off of the floor, unable to keep

their footing from the earthquake that resulted from the explosion

of the two beams. Washu's lab was starting to look like a

battlefield itself, as glass jars fell off of shelves and shattered on

the floor, books and other text that were kept neatly in filing

cabinets were now laying in chaos on the hard concrete, and even

some of her aquariums were cracked, seeping water.

Getting on her feet, Washu looked at her lab in a mixture

of shock, horror, and frustration. "GOD DAMMIT!" she yelled at

the top of her voice. "My lab is a total wreck! That earthquake

has ruined months, no, YEARS of work! And I can't close the

door down permanently, or they'll be sealed in there forever!"

Collapsing back to her knees, she looked at the ground, tears at the

corners of her eyes. "Why?"

"Oh Washu" Sasami whispered, coming over to the

scientist. Without another word, she wrapped her arms around

Washu, holding her tightly.

Gasping in surprise, Washu looked up into Sasami's

sincere face, and then broke down. Grabbing the little princess,

she buried her face into her overalls and began to cry, letting out

all of her frustration at once, not caring who was watching her.

The rest of the family stood by quietly, waiting for her to come to

her senses and become the strong woman that everybody knew. It

was indeed a rare spectacle to see Washu show any kind of soft

emotion, such as sadness. She quickly regained her strength and

made it back to her feet, looking at the holographic representation

of the separate dimension, gasping in horror.

"I can't believe they're still alive after that," Ryoko said,

her eyes wide, looking at Russ and all of his cuts. "This is insane."

"Both blasts had enough power to destroy a planet,"

Washu said, keying in a few commands on her laptop. Their

power levels were too high to measure, but she was able to

program the computer to make a good estimate. "Since they pretty

much cancelled each other out, only that explosion was the result,"

she explained, wiping her eyes dry.

"That was a huge impact," Tenchi said, rubbing his

bottom. "This borders on surreal and fake, but if I weren't here to

see it, I would've never believed it."

Aeka was standing off to the side, her visage locked on

Russ, and she could see the pain he was in. Walking over to him,

she reached out to touch his face, but her hand passed right through

him, pixelating around her hand. Quickly withdrawing it, she

clasped her hands together and looked into his green eyes, sadness

and despair entering her heart. "He's losing," she whispered to

herself, turning around and looking at Zorpheus, who also looked

to be in a tremendous amount of pain. "This can't be happening."

Noticing Aeka, Kiyone came over and stood in front of

her, sternness on her face. "Pull yourself together Aeka. This

fight is still far from finished."

"I don't care. I want it to end now," Aeka responded,

wiping the tears away from her eyes. "I don't want to see

Zorpheus hurt Russ anymore."

"I know, but we can't do anything about it. They have to

finish this on their own."

Watching Russ lift off into the air, he hovered about fifty

feet above the ground, clenched his fists, and took up his favorite

stance, ready to continue. Zorpheus said nothing, as he too, lifted

off of the ground, ready to continue. Without another word, both

warriors flew at each other, punching and kicking at such a rapid

pace that it was nothing but a blur to everybody. Numerous

shockwaves exploded from each blocked punch or kick, and it

continued to shake the floor they stood on.

Washu just shook her head and continued to focus on the

battle, not caring about her lab anymore, but now more interested

in the outcome of this confrontation. Eyeing Aeka, she knew that

something was building up inside of the princess like a bomb

waiting to go off. Knowing the princesses feelings toward Russ,

she sincerely hoped she'd listen to her head rather than her heart.

"Isn't this exciting, Funaho?" Misaki asked, watching the

battle continue. "He's so incredibly strong, and so is Zorpheus.

I've never seen anything like it before. Aeka really picked a

beefcake this time, didn't she?"

Giggling quietly, Funaho nodded her head. "Russ looks

so strange with his yellow hair and his green eyes. That's one of

the wildest things I've ever seen."

"Yeah! He does look rather odd, but very handsome in

his current form. But that's the transformation into a Super

Saiyan. Did you see how much his speed and power increased

since turning into that?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. "Aeka

deserves someone who can protect her like he can. There isn't

another man alive that could harm her with him by her side."

"Except for that man," Asuza pointed out, thrusting his

finger toward Zorpheus, who continued to punch and kick at Russ.

"He seems to be doing a pretty good job of pounding Russ into the

ground."

"They're pretty much equal, actually," Azaka pointed out,

doing his best to keep his attention on their movements, trying to

learn some new moves from the battle. "After that blast, they're

basically on the same fighting ground."

"I agree," Kamidake said, also watching the battle in

complete concentration. "Their power, energy, and strength are so

preposterous that they'd probably be more likely to kill each other

than have a single victor."

"I doubt that," Funaho said, glaring at Kamidake. "There

will be a winner here, lest he break his promise to Aeka and

Sasami, and I do not believe he will."

Asuza remained quiet, but he secretly hoped that Russ

would lose and parish. It would make his job a lot easier to bring

his daughter back home to help rule the empire. Besides, she was

to assume her duty and marry the man he chose for her, who would

best benefit the empire. If, for some unknown reason that he did

survive, he began wondering what he could do to force her

daughter to come home. Perhaps assassination? No, that couldn't

work. Who in their right mind would go and try to kill someone

like him? He'd most likely see it coming, and even if he didn't,

any kind of weapon that currently existed probably couldn't affect

him. But perhaps, maybe if he threatened the planet that was their

current home, Earth. Maybe if he said that he'd destroy the planet

if she didn't return home. Maybe that would sway her decision.

Besides, there would be no way that one warrior could do anything

to several hundred ships positioned around the planet.

Grinning to himself, Asuza settled on an alternative. He

wouldn't destroy the planet, as he didn't have the heart to do that,

but perhaps making it a bluff. Already knowing how Russ felt

toward him, he'd probably convince himself that he was being

truthful and would follow through on his threat. If that were the

case, he may be able to lure him off the planet and destroy him in

space. There is no way a single fighter, even if it was the most

powerful one in existence, could take on a fleet of Jurian warships

by itself.

"What are you thinking about, dear?" Misaki asked,

noticing his inattentiveness, as Russ just plowed Zorpheus into the

ground, following it up with a huge beam that exploded around

Zorpheus.

"Aeka should come home to assume her duties as the

Crown Princess," he muttered, glaring at the screen, irked that

Russ seemed to rebound from the beating he took seconds before.

"She'll come home, eventually. But she'll probably bring

Russ with her," she responded, smiling.

"That man has nothing to offer Jurai!" he shouted, his

face very cross. "I will not hear another word of him coming

here!"

"Actually, he does have something to offer. He is the

most powerful being in this galaxy. He is kind, considerate,

caring, and has enough power within his body to defend this entire

planet by himself, and there isn't another empire around that could

challenge him. Bringing him here would be one of the smartest

things we could do," Funaho explained, unable to spark any kind

of response out of her husband. "He is everything that a prince

should be."

"Hogwash!" Asuza returned. "He's a playboy, worthless,

and stupid. He wouldn't know how to even begin to handle our

issues without the use of his fists!"

"I do not agree with that at all, husband!" Misaki yelled,

getting mad. "Sasami has told me that he is a good teacher and

listens to people's problems. Russ could figure out our system in

no time, and he'd be a great leader too. He listens and knows how

to talk to people, unlike you," she sneered, tired of his meanness

and inflexibility.

The king turned his head completely towards Misaki, his

face a cold scowl, and Funaho's face was a look of shock. "You

will speak to me with more respect, Lady Misaki," he growled, his

voice low and serious. "My decision is final. That man will have

no ties with this planet and our daughter shall come home to do

what she was meant to do, WITHOUT HIM!" he decreed, looking

at the screen, where Zorpheus caught Russ in the middle of a

punching spree.

"Are you really so cold as to ignore your daughter's

feelings?" Misaki asked, very hurt. "Doesn't what she wants

matter?"

"We are the royal family and it is our duty to serve this

empire. It's time she learned duty over her trifle feelings," he

returned, sitting back. "We shall go visit them after this battle. It

will take us a week to get to Earth, and we will bring an escort fleet

with us. We will settle this once and for all. I will make our

daughter come home with us."

Funaho and Misaki both looked at him in a mix of shock,

surprise, and disgust, but they both knew that they couldn't do

anything about it, except go along with it. It hurt Misaki very

deeply, as this was the first time he had ever turned down someone

so vehemently. He basically ignored Tenchi, but he was very

vocal and very against Russ's relationship with her daughter.

Never listening to her pleas about Aeka, he was completely

focused on enhancing his empire. It almost didn't seem like Asuza

was himself, but bewitched in some way. Nevertheless, the only

thing they could do was to continue trying to change his mind.

Really hoping that Russ would stick by Aeka's side, there

wouldn't be a whole lot he could do if he was adamant about

staying with her daughter. There wouldn't be a thing he could do

about it, actually. Threatening him with force wouldn't get him

anywhere, because Russ could lay waste to even their best

warriors, while he was in his normal form, without even breaking a

sweat, while he'd be under intense gravity.

Thinking about it further, she wondered why he wanted to

bring an escort fleet. They didn't do that the last couple of times

they visited Earth. Perhaps he felt safer with many ships

surrounding him. She knew that he was afraid of Russ and what he

could do, but it still didn't explain it entirely. There had to be

another reason behind it all.

Turning her attention to the viewscreen, Misaki watched

Russ with a mix of hope, fear, and determination. She could see

his will to fight and win, and it was strong. However, Zorpheus's

was equally as strong, and she couldn't predict an outcome of their

continuing battle. Thinking back to when Russ visited everybody

during Startica, she remembered an explanation that he had given

her over why he didn't want to become involved with Aeka, and

she could begin to see why. "She was able to make a difference

with Tenchi. She'd just get herself killed if she got involved with

one of my issues," he had said. And now she had the proof she

needed. Yes, she could parish at Zorpheus's hand, easily, but one

thing she had learned about many warriors is that they won't attack

those who are weaker than them at least, very infrequently.

"What are you going to do if Aeka still refuses to come

home, husband?" Misaki asked, becoming withdrawn. "Are you

going to drag her here, kicking and screaming? Will you ruin

whatever shred of dignity that she has left?"

"I will not explain it again, Lady Misaki," he growled,

eyeing her. "She belongs here, with us, to serve as the Crown

Princess of Jurai, as she was destined to be."

Looking away, ashamed, she unconsciously clenched her

hands into fists, seething at his stubbornness. There just had to be

a way to change his mind, and in reality, there was. Russ could

change his mind. All he had to do was say that he was going to

stay with their daughter for the rest of his life, and no matter what

they did, he would never forsake her. That would do it. The King

could bluster and threaten until he was blue in the face, but she

knew that he wouldn't tango with a Saiyan, even if he were the

most powerful Jurian alive. Picking up her face, the corners of her

eyes moist, she looked at Russ and put her last bit of hope onto

him. *You're the only thing standing in between Aeka and her

father. I hope you fall in love with her and take her as your own

for the rest of your life,* she thought to herself, glaring at her

husband. *I know you'd be miserable here, as you've found

something far more important to you than anything else in this

universe.*

Funaho looked over at her, reading her changing facial

expressions, and realized that she was hoping against hope that

Russ would be the one to stop him. Saying a silent prayer to

herself, she too, put all of her hopes for Aeka onto Russ, entrusting

him with her. *Win, Russ. All you have to do is win and take

their daughter into your arms and love her like no other. That is

what she wants, and that is what both your mother and myself want

for you. This planet can survive without you, but I hope you come

home and bring Russ with you, as the empire would become

invincible with the two of you. You'd take this empire to even

greater heights than we have established. That is your destiny.*

Looking at both of his wives curiously, he knew they

were thinking to themselves, but he had no idea what could've

been running through their minds. Deciding to ignore it, he

continued to scheme, developing and perfecting his plan for

bringing his daughter home.

Landing on the ground after a vicious fistfight with

Zorpheus, Russ was breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

Having many cuts, abrasions, contusions, and bruises, he looked

positively horrible, but Zorpheus looked exactly the same way.

Neither warrior gained any ground on the other, as they continued

to fight to kill. Zorpheus got in more hits, but Russ hit a lot harder.

Reaching up to wipe a trickle of blood from the corner of

his mouth, he stared at Zorpheus from across the huge crater.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You're fighting to kill me!

Why?" Russ yelled, still unable to figure out why Zorpheus was so

adamant about destroying him.

"Because there is something about you that just pisses me

off," he returned, folding his arms over his chest, his bionic arm

containing several dents.

Scowling, Russ shook his head. "And what would that

be?"

"Oh, there's a load of things, I'm sure. Not just one

single reason. Maybe it's your goody-goody attitude. Maybe it's

the fact that you never bother to refine your fighting style. Or

maybe it's the fact that you lead the ladies on like a pack mule with

a carrot dangling in the front of it."

"Yeah, sure. How do I lead the ladies on, bigshot? Is it

because I don't take advantage of them like you do? Is it because

when one approaches me about a relationship, I tell them no, but

they insist on pursuing one with me anyway?" he asked, shaking

his head. "Even if I'm cold, they won't go away! It's not my fault

they can't take no for an answer!"

Zorpheus grinned, then scowled. "Ha! You are so selfish

that it's sickening. Even if a lady were desperate for someone to

love, you'd turn her away anyway! Don't tell me that you've been

living with a house full of women for a year and not ONE has

started coming on to you!"

His face becoming downcast, Russ hung his head.

"Actually, yeah. One has been chasing me for an entire year so

far"

"It's the one with the purple hair, isn't it?" Zorpheus

interrupted.

Looking up at him, he nodded his head. "That's the one.

Her name is Aeka, and she is the crown princess of Jurai," he

explained. "A relationship with someone like that would be

impossible, and you know it."

"Yeah, it would be impossible because of your selfish

desires to keep yourself from getting hurt again," he spat. "I've

seen the way she looks at you. I had to listen to her pathetic plea

to spare your miserable hide. You don't deserve her love, Russ! I

commend her for chasing you for so long, putting up with the fact

that your head is stuck up your ass so far that you can't see the

light of day when it comes to women! You claim to know what's

best for them, but all you're doing is dragging them through the

mud and the briar bushes. You DISGUST me!" Zorpheus roared.

Russ's face becoming a mask of fury, his ki snapped

around him from his emotions getting the better of him. "Shut

your face, you bastard! You think it's worth putting her life in

danger at every turn?! How many women have you been with that

are still alive? Huh?"

"Actually, they're all still alive and, Heh, satisfied," he

responded, grinning. "I've never been able to hold onto one for

very long, but I make sure they never forget me! Ha ha!"

"Now THAT'S disgusting," Russ snarled, his eyebrows

furrowing together. "People should choose one love and stay with

her! I'd still be with mine because I loved her like no other, but

she was killed, and I never want to feel that kind of pain EVER

again! What about Aeka? What happens to her if I die? You

think she's going to smile and jump with joy?"

"Listen to yourself. 'What if this happens?' 'What if that

happens?' 'Oh, boo hoo, I'm such a loser.' Who the hell freakin'

cares about that?! I'm quite sure that girl back there in the real

world would prefer dying in your company than living the rest of

her life alone, without you. The fact that you can't understand that

sickens me even more," Zorpheus explained, growing angry again.

"And that is why I must kill you. She'll have no choice but to

move on. Maybe she'll find someone who doesn't hurt her as

much as you."

"Argh! It's not like she can't go find someone better

suited for her! Yes! I am a loser! I'm a risk, a liability, and I

know I wouldn't be able to take it if she died because of me like

Laurie did. It's for her own good and my own! Besides, her father

would never allow it, and he's the king of a huge empire! How the

hell am I supposed to compete with something like that?!" Russ

yelled back, frustrated.

"YOU'RE NOT EVEN WILLING TO FUCKING TRY

TO MAKE IT WORK, YOU JACKASS!" Zorpheus bellowed,

clenching his fists together, his eyes a raging inferno of built up

emotion.

"I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE, STUPID! You don't

understand how a kingdom works, you pompous, arrogant

bastard!"

Calming down a bit, Zorpheus took on a more caring

demeanor for a second. "Why don't you stop thinking about

yourself for one second and think about someone else's feelings

for a change? You think she cares about royalty? Look where she

lives, for Christ's sake. You think she cares about making her

father happy by marrying some putz with a stupid British accent

and a load of money? Hell no! She cares about YOU! She'll go

through hell or high water to make it work because she's probably

that much in love with you. But you don't care about her feelings,

do you?" he sneered, grinding his teeth.

Russ shook his head, becoming more irritated by the

minute. "Of course I care," he answered, his voice low and

defeated. "That's the same argument she uses to try to make me

change my mind."

"If you truly cared, you would return her affections and

forget about all of your silly apprehensions and fears. But you still

can't think of anyone but your own dumb self and push her away

like she's some kind of pest!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" Russ screamed,

launching himself at Zorpheus, starting another flurry of punches

and kicks, his energy level continually rising by the minute.

Staggering back, Zorpheus managed to parry most of the blows,

letting a few slip past his defenses, his face and chest getting nailed

several times. Backflipping away, he avoided a ki-enhanced fist

that Russ planted into the ground, creating a gigantic explosion,

making rocks and other debris go flying everywhere. "You freak,

I'm going to tear you apart!" Withdrawing his fist, he again raced

at Zorpheus, making his offense far more intense than he had

before, but Zorpheus still managed to block and avoid most of the

onslaught, zanzokening away to the other side of the fifteen

hundred foot crater.

Grinning, but breathing heavily, Zorpheus's eyes flashed

a gleam of evilness that Russ hadn't seen before. "Don't fly off

the handle when you know you're full of shit."

"You're no telepath, stupid. You haven't figured out that

technique yet, so quit fooling yourself," Russ growled, his fist

shaking with intensity, ready for another go.

"Hah. You mean that old thing? Who needs it? But

about the purple-haired bitch Aeka? Why don't I just save you

all the annoyance and kill her for you? You don't seem to love

her, and you say she's annoying you, so I'll be doing you a favor!"

His eyes widened in shock as his jaw dropped in complete

surprise, but it quickly went to a rage that Russ had burning inside

of him for a long time. Letting out a bloodcurdling scream, Russ's

aura engulfed him, causing the ground he stood on to disintegrate,

then caving in as he hurled himself at Zorpheus at a speed he never

anticipated. "YOU'LL NEVER TOUCH HER, YOU SON OF A

BITCH!" he yelled at the top of his voice, burying his fist into

Zorpheus's gut, cracking and shattering the remaining bits of

armor he had.

Doubling over in pain, Zorpheus dropped to a knee and

hurled, spitting up a mouthful of blood, and then howled in agony.

However, he didn't have much time to concentrate on the one

aching part of his body as Russ's fist found its mark underneath his

jaw, sending him high into the sky. Before he knew how far he

had gone, he felt another impact on his chest as Russ smashed both

of his fists into his chest in a double axe handle, sending him back

to the ground. He impacted and created yet another depression in

the ground, and he let out a scream of anguish, surprise, and pain.

Russ floated over him in mid-air, breathing heavily, his

arms shaking from the rage he felt a moment before. "Don't toy

with me," Russ said, his voice low, icy, and deadly.

After a moment, Zorpheus started laughing like a jackal, a

joyous grin on his face, mixed with strain, as he pulled himself up

and back to his feet. "Who's toying?" I'm merely offering my

services in disposing of unwanted trash. Maybe I'll give her a

good time before I send her off to the next dimension," he said,

then started laughing harder, dropping back to his knees, and

clutching his chest in pain.

If Russ could've become the devil, he would have at that

moment. Gathering up a full head of steam, screaming like a

banshee, he headed straight for Zorpheus, his face contorted into a

look of pure hatred, rage, and determination. Both of his fists were

outstretched, making him look like Superman as he hurtled

downward.

Just before Russ hit him, Zorpheus took one step to his

side and stuck out his knee. Seeing it, Russ couldn't stop in time,

and he wound up folding himself in half over his knee from the

impact. Seizing another opportunity, Zorpheus quickly removed

his knee, dropped back a step and punted Russ into the sky,

satisfied that he found a worthy distraction to throw Russ off of his

game plan. Instantly reaching his height by zanzokening multiple

times, he slammed Russ in the back of his head, hard enough just

to stop his ascent. Quickly getting under him, he began punching

Russ in his face, chest, arms, legs, and any other surface that didn't

look damaged. Blood flew off of Russ's body like water as

Zorpheus continued to pound him into hamburger. It almost

looked like Russ was floating there, but the force of all of

Zorpheus's impacts was keeping him airborne.

Russ never even tried to mount a defense, as he was being

pummeled like a punching bag. Satisfied that he caused enough

damage, Zorpheus appeared above and behind him, pointed both of

his feet at Russ's back, then flew at top speed into his spine.

Letting out a yell of agony, Russ flew at the ground at

incredible speed and impacted, his body creating a huge, hundred-

foot deep trench as his momentum was very, very high. After a

quarter mile of skidding, he finally stopped, upside down, with

only his calves and feet sticking out of the dirt. It took nearly a

minute, but he finally pulled himself out of the ground, his face a

complete mess of dirt and abrasions. His left eye was swollen shut

and puffy, but he pulled himself back to his feet, ready to continue.

"How much longer until we reach Earth?" Tom barked

from his command chair.

"Two hours, thirty three minutes, sir," Sakuya returned,

watching the countdown meter.

"Increase power to the engines to nine out of ten," he

ordered.

Sakuya looked at him fearfully. "We've never gone that

fast, sir. We don't know if the ship can handle the stress."

"This ship was built to handle this sort of thing. May I

have nine out of ten please," he returned, his eyes never leaving the

monitor that showed the fight between Zorpheus and Russ.

"Yes, sir. Accelerating," she said, feeling the ship

shudder slightly as it increased its speed to near maximum. "We

will arrive in fifty five minutes at this speed."

"Good. Monitor the engine power output and make sure

it stays within acceptable tolerances." Glancing out of the large

windows, the colors of hyperspace raced past the hull at incredible

speed, as this was the first time he had taken his ship to this level

of velocity. A very light vibration was present in the deck plating,

but it wasn't bad. The inertial dampeners were the best that were

ever built, and he was very proud of everybody who helped build

his monstrosity. He knew that it was probably the fastest ship in

the galaxy, as he had yet to encounter a race that could match his

technology. However, the Jurians had quite a military as well. It

was the first time he had seen a ship made out of wood that could

survive the rigors of space travel. Nevertheless, even though his

ship was technically a warship, the weapons on his hull were to be

used for defensive purposes only. He instilled that to all of his

crewmembers when they came onboard, and he told them outright

that he'd invite them to leave if they ever considered otherwise.

Watching the battle recommence, Tom watched both of

their faces with concern. It had been quite a while since he had

seen Zorpheus, as both he and Zorpheus were also good friends.

Russ and Zorpheus were the best of friends as well, and they

always had a good time, or knew how to start having one.

Zorpheus, at times, was funny as hell, and Russ would somehow

make everything he did even funnier. He could recall times when

he literally rolled around on the floor, laughing to the point where

tears were flowing out of his eyes and his sides ached. It had been

over two years since he had seen those two together, but what he

was witnessing was far from what he would've expected from a

reunion between those two.

Having been friends for so long, he couldn't figure out

why they were trying to kill each other. It just didn't make any

sense. Sure, Zorpheus and Russ had quite a few disagreements,

argued a lot, and at times, got into fistfights with each other, but

not to the point where they'd try to kill each other. He could tell

just by the looks on their faces, that they were not fighting to stop

each other, but to destroy each other. Listening to their

conversation, he could tell that Russ was his normal self, but

Zorpheus had changed and had become hateful. Angry. Mean.

Callus. They were all traits that Tom had never seen Zorpheus

portray; especially the way he addressed Aeka. He was NEVER

cold to a woman. Never. He was very respectful, except when he

was being perverted, and he'd always keep his tongue in check.

Ever since he had known Zorpheus, he could never recall one

instance where he had used the f word. In fact, he swore about as

commonly as Russ, and that amounted to almost never. But in

watching the fight between the two warriors, he could see a

definite change in Zorpheus. It almost looked and sounded like an

entirely different person. Tom knew that both Russ and Zorpheus

had split ways, but it was on neither good nor bad terms, but how

could two years change a man that much? It didn't make any

sense.

Drumming his fingers on his chair, he glanced around the

bridge, taking in each of the crew's interest in the battle.

Everybody was focused on it, wondering who the victor was going

to be. None of the crew rooted for one or the other, because they

were both equally liked, and a feel of worry was present

throughout the room.

One thing Tom was certain of is that they were both going

to be severely messed up after their battle. Russ looked to be in

worse shape than Zorpheus, and that made his mind wander to

Aeka. Remembering her smile when Russ walked into a room,

when she waited for him on the bridge after she first arrived, and

how excited she felt around Russ, was enough to tell him that she

was probably going crazy if they were still living together. He did

notice that Aeka and her family were nowhere to be seen, so they

must've been somewhere safe. Washu gave him a brief

explanation of what was going on and where both Russ and

Zorpheus were having their battle, but it still blew his mind that

they were in another dimension. That woman was nothing short of

genius, and he gave her a lot of credit for coming up with that idea.

But he knew that Princess Aeka must've been going

through a very hard time, especially if she was watching the

confrontation. She seemed delicate, emotional, and very worried

that one day Russ would leave her, even though at the time they

weren't a couple. It made his own heart ache a little, as he

remembered what Russ told him on many occasions. "Do you

think that a woman could even survive with me? Do you think she

deserves to watch her love be pounded and beaten up all the time?

Do you think it's fair to her to make her stand by and watch as I

parish in battle, if I do? Of course not. I'm not looking for love

anymore. It just hurts too much," he had said. "In a way, I had a

girlfriend, but I was never allowed to be intimate with her. If I

were, I probably would've committed suicide after I defeated all of

those bandits, who raided her planet, just to be with her. I never

want to feel it again. That rage, that pain, was just far too much for

me to handle. I know you had a wife, Tom, but she passed away

from natural causes, but it's far more difficult to learn that

someone was killed or murdered, as their life was taken away not

by the hand of God, but by the hand of another mortal, even if you

see it coming."

Tom shook his head, thinking about Russ's way of

avoiding women. He had so many girls come on to him that he

was almost on par with Zorpheus. His cool, calm, caring

demeanor went very far in making himself attractive to the

opposite sex. Of course, his buff body also did wonders for

bringing in the ladies. Zorpheus was more outgoing and liked to

have a good time, sometimes, going a little too far, but they were

always respectful to everybody and especially the girls that wanted

them. Some girls wanted a one-night fling while others were

looking for a more long-term relationship. Zorpheus would always

turn away the ones who wanted the relationship, as he knew he

couldn't take a girl with him on his journey, but Russ would avoid

all of it. He'd always politely decline, and a lot of times, would lie

and say he was already spoken for. Even then, some of the women

after him would really pour on the pressure, just wanting a little

fun with him, but he'd always pointedly refuse, and walk away.

He almost was a heartbreaker.

Watching on the video monitor, Tom saw Russ remount a

desperate offense, showering the area Zorpheus was in with a

barrage of blue ki blasts, causing explosion after explosion.

Watching them, Tom could also see that each of them had become

stronger, faster, and better at their fighting techniques. Zorpheus

was always the one to carry a weapon, but mostly for show. "It's

cool!" he'd say. "What better way to have a guy keep his distance

without a fight than to have a big sword with you? All the cool

people carry them! Lina Inverse! Gourry! Hell, even most of the

giant mecha anime had swords for their robots! What would they

be without their weapon?" But still, this was the first time he had

actually seen Zorpheus use his blade. But what blew his mind is

when Russ formed a staff out of thin air, resembling a lightsaber,

and how Zorpheus's sword was able to stop it. When he was

testing different armor for the star destroyer, he had Russ throw

small ki blasts at various types of durasteel, and he picked the one

that resisted his blast the best. But still, not even that could've

held up to a sword slash like the ones Russ had dealt. He heard of

the name cortosis ore before, but he had never seen it, or believed

that it existed. If he could find a chunk of that metal, he may be

able to have his staff analyze it and make a whole new armor

plating for his ships. Armor plating that would be capable of

withstanding a battle even without shields. That would be cool.

"Tom?"

Snapping out of his random thoughts, he glanced down at

his science officer. "Yes, Larry? What is it?"

"Why are they fighting like that? Aren't they supposed to

be good friends?"

Nodding his head slowly, his eyes wandered back to the

screen. "Yeah. They were friends for as long as I can remember.

They split ways due to the difference of an opinion, but I never

dreamed they'd want to kill each other at this point. I wish I saw

the beginning of the battle," he muttered. "They probably had said

what they were tearing each other apart for."

"Do you think his girlfriend is watching the battle?"

Tom grinned. "Unfortunately, she wasn't his girlfriend at

the time. I don't know if that fact has changed or not, but I can

guarantee that she is completely focused on this fight."

"I hope that this outcome gets resolved soon. I'd really be

upset if Russ or even Zorpheus parishes due to their injuries."

"Yeah. I still have Zorpheus's special customized fighter

in the hanger bay as well. I never had a chance to give it to him

yet," Tom said, keying a command on one of his consoles,

bringing up an image of Zorpheus's favorite type of fighter.

Larry sat back in his chair, scratching his head. "This

should be over with soon. They're both looking very fatigued."

"I have a feeling that it's still far from over," Tom

returned, focusing back on the fight.

Aeka was on her knees, crying, at seeing Russ get hit

again and again by Zorpheus. He definitely wasn't gaining the

same amount of ground Zorpheus was, but they both were almost

equally worn out. Having fought for over an hour, throwing more

punches, kicks, and jabs than all the karate matches combined for

the past year, she felt as if she were in there as well, her heart and

soul aching from seeing her love losing his life. It was almost

more than she could bear.

Sasami, Tenchi, and Ryoko were all around her, doing

their best to comfort her, but even they were beginning to worry

about Russ, as they too, could begin to sense that he was going to

lose. They were hitting each other with enough force to destroy a

small planet in one shot, and their ki attacks were enough to

vaporize anything that was in its path, except for each other. But

they could see that Zorpheus was getting in more shots than Russ,

and his hits were right on target.

"Aeka! Pull yourself together!" Tenchi said, shaking her,

trying to break the mental shell she put around herself. "They're

not done yet! Russ can still win this thing!"

"Come on, sister! Please try to relax. Russ is still going

strong and he promised us that he wouldn't lose, remember?"

Sasami said, hugging her.

"I'm afraid I can't concur with that, Sasami," Washu said,

banishing her laptop back into subspace, hanging her head. "He

has been taking a beating far more than Zorpheus has, and even

though Russ is more powerful, Zorpheus is the better fighter. Russ

will lose this confrontation. It is only a matter of time," she said,

quietly.

Ryoko looked at her mother in hatred while Sasami

looked at her sadly. "What the hell is wrong with you? How the

hell could you be so cold to Aeka and Sasami?!"

"I'm only stating a fact, Ryoko. At this rate, Russ will

lose. His chances of pulling off a victory keep getting slimmer and

slimmer with every blow," Washu said, clenching her hands into

fists. "I wish I could do something! But even in their weakened

state, they're still far too powerful for even my most powerful

weapons. The only thing that I could do is to destroy the both of

them, and that is unacceptable. We have to wait for the battle to

end before we go in there."

"That's beside the point! You're basically telling Aeka

that he's going to die! Don't you have any feelings for her?"

Ryoko snapped, seething at Washu's coldness.

"Yes I do!" Washu yelled, tears at the corners of her eyes.

"That man has found my son for me, and there is no way that I

could even begin to repay that. Do you think that I don't want to

go in there and annihilate Zorpheus myself to save Russ's life?

No! But if there was a way for me to do it, I WOULD!"

"I think you're full of it, Washu! Even after he found

your son, you continued to be arrogant to him and push all of his

buttons! You were mean to him on more occasions than I can

count! And you expect me to believe that you like him enough to

lay down your life for him? Bullshit!"

"I behave like that to him because I like him! You've

taken only a half dozen examples of where I tease him and you've

blown it far out of proportion. If Aeka didn't want him, I'd be all

over him like greased lightning! I've never met a man who was as

kind, generous, and easy going as him, not to mention handsome.

He knows I tease him because I like him. He's not dense and he

figured that out pretty quick, unlike my daughter who jumps to

conclusions!" Washu returned, her eyes angry.

"Stop it!" Tenchi shouted. "Stop it right now! That's

enough! This isn't the time for this!"

Washu shot Tenchi a look that almost silenced him. "I'm

sorry Tenchi. She may be your bride to be, but she is still my

daughter!"

Biting his tongue, Tenchi only glared at Washu, but the

argument had stopped. Strangely, it had gotten very quiet in the

room, except for the sobs from Aeka. Both Russ and Zorpheus

were down, barely moving.

Slowly getting to her feet, Aeka's face wet with tears,

anger, frustration, and despair, she clenched her jaw, watching

Russ and Zorpheus get back to their feet, resuming their fight.

"I"

"Aeka?" Sasami asked, looking at her changing

expression. "Aeka, what's wrong?"

"I" she said again, her arms beginning to shake. "I"

"Aeka! What is wrong?" Ryoko said, standing in front of

her, looking into her eyes, which were ablaze in rage.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!" she

screamed, her green aura flashing around her. "I'VE HAD

ENOUGH!"

Backing off several paces from surprise, Sasami fell on

her bottom, looking fearfully at her sister. Both Ryoko and Tenchi

also backed off, very worried about Aeka.

"Don't do anything hasty, Aeka," Washu warned,

stepping over to her. "There isn't anything you can do for Russ

right now."

Not even hearing Washu, Aeka continued to energize

herself, and then she let out a scream that echoed around the entire

lab as she squeezed her eyes shut, the sound of her voice

reverberating again and again, resonating off of the walls, the

ceiling, the floor, and everything around the room. Becoming

engulfed in white light, her clothing changed into her Jurian battle

armor, complete with the black streaks on her face, the brown,

pink, and purple armor complete and ready. Reopening her eyes,

she slowly turned toward the doorway, making her way to the

other dimension.

"STOP HER!" Washu shouted, watching both Ryoko and

Tenchi change into their battle clothing.

Ignoring the pleas from both Ryoko and Tenchi, she

continued to make her way over to the doorway, ready to do battle,

or die trying. "Do not stand in my way. This is my choice, and

mine alone. That is where I want to be, and there is nothing that

you can do to stop me," she said, coldly, her voice the equivalent

of ice.

Washu stepped in front of her, challenging her. "I will

not let you do something foolish. Listen to your head, not your

heart," she said, standing her ground.

Narrowing her eyes at the red haired scientist, Aeka shook

her head. "Step aside, or I'll move you myself," she growled.

"I will not."

"Then I will move you," she said, raising her fist, letting it

go straight across Washu's face in a powerful backhand, knocking

her nearly ten feet away to crash through a shelf, causing the

beakers and the wood to fall to the floor in a loud clatter. Glass

shards went everywhere and the shelving broke apart from the

force of the blow. Looking back toward the door, Aeka continued

to advance.

"AEKA!" Tenchi roared, getting in front of her. "You've

gone too far! How dare you hit Washu! She's only trying to

protect you!"

Her face wavering only slightly, tears still streaming out

of her eyes, she shook her head. "Please move Tenchi. I will do

the same to you as I did to Washu if you force my hand."

"Listen to yourself! Are" he started, but Aeka put her

hand in front of his face.

"I'm going to join the man I love. I want to be with him

more than anything, and not even you will stop me," she said, her

other hand still clenched into a fist at her side. "Please move,

Tenchi."

Tenchi looked hard into her eyes, seeing the fire that

burned there, the passion that existed there, and the love that

flowed from her. Listening to his head, he shook his head. "Russ

can still win this on his own. If you go in there and Zorpheus takes

notice of you, he may kill you. That's not fair to Russ. He would

want you to live, no matter what happens. He's told you that so

many times that I don't think it could've been counted."

"It doesn't matter," she said, looking down at the floor.

"That is what I want. I'm tired of listening to people tell me what

is best for me. It's like people don't believe that I can think for

myself. I'm tired of it. I'm going to do what I want, this time."

Dropping back a step, she took up a fighting stance. "Stand aside,

Tenchi."

Ryoko phased beside him, her orange sword humming

quietly. "You'll have to get past both of us to get to Russ, Aeka.

We love you and will do anything to protect you, and this is a part

of that love," she said, her face determined. "There is no way in

hell I'm letting you in that room without a fight."

"You'd be in there if Tenchi was the one fighting, isn't

that right?" she asked, looking at Ryoko. "What would you do if I

were the one stopping you?"

Hesitating for a few moments, Ryoko lowered her sword.

"I'd do the same thing you are, Aeka."

Tenchi looked at his fiance in surprise. "You're not

seriously thinking about letting her in there, are you?" he asked.

Looking over at him, she smiled. "It's her turn to do what

she wants. Who are we to stop her?"

"I will not let her in there. She's just as important to me

as you are," Tenchi said, still standing ready. "And what of her

sister? The circumstances are way different at this point."

"It doesn't matter. Aeka loves him. That's more than

enough for her," Ryoko returned, letting her sword disappear. "I

will not stand in your way, Aeka, but I will try one more time to

talk you out of it."

Aeka looked at Ryoko, the tears still flowing. "Thank

you for understanding. I never would've thought that you'd be the

one to encourage me to follow my heart," she said, taking a step

toward the door.

Tenchi once again got in front of her. "Stop, Aeka," he

warned.

Reaching out to him, Aeka grabbed his clothes, lifted him

effortlessly off of the floor, and moved him aside, tossing him

about five feet away. Tenchi had landed on his feet, but he was

utterly surprised at the strength the princess now possessed. She

was powerful before, almost powerful enough to be the strongest

Jurian alive, but now, she was far beyond that. Her strength had

gone much further than what it used to be, and he knew that it was

her training with Russ that had done it.

Again, running in front of her, Tenchi stood firm,

preparing to fight, ready to do whatever it took to stop Aeka from

going into that room. "Look at what you did to Washu," Tenchi

growled, thrusting his finger over to the scientist, who had finally

gotten back to her feet. She had several cuts on her arms from the

broken glass and a large bruise on her face, but she looked very

worried and unhappy. "This isn't you at all!" he yelled.

Looking over to her, Aeka then looked back at Tenchi,

her facial expression remaining unchanged. "I'm not the same,

Tenchi. I'm in love now, and as you know, love changes a person.

You're trying to stop me from being with the man I love, and I

won't allow it. There is only one man who can make or break me

at this point, and he's there in that other room, getting the life beat

out of him. I will not watch this any more. I will stop it myself,"

she said, regally, maintaining a high level of pride and dignity.

Tenchi shook his head. "Aeka, you're"

"Let her go, Tenchi."

Looking off to the side, Tenchi's face went to surprise.

"Washu?"

"She is a grown woman, able to make her own decisions.

We've been treating her like a child, making decisions for her and

other things. It's not fair to her to keep her from what she wants

most," she explained, rubbing her bruise. "Let her go, Tenchi."

"She'll die if she goes in there!" Tenchi yelled. "Is

that"

"Knock it off. It's not our decision to make if she wants

to go in there or not, to be with the man she loves. To be honest,

I'd do the same thing."

"Me too," Ryoko said, looking at Tenchi.

"Me three," Sasami said, smiling up at her sister. "Be

careful, Aeka."

"I would as well," Kiyone said, stepping up to Tenchi.

"Same here," Mihoshi said, looking dead serious.

"Are you all nuts?" Tenchi said, finding himself at odds

with all the girls in the room. "It'd be different if it were someone

else besides Russ in there!"

"How would it be different? Would it be that our chances

of victory being higher? That doesn't matter to us, Tenchi,"

Washu said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It could be the most

powerful being in the universe, and we'd face it to be with the one

we fell in love with. Love is one of the most powerful and

unpredictable emotions of all. Let her go, Tenchi." Washu smiled,

and then nodded her head at Aeka. "Please be careful."

"I will, Washu. Thank you, and I'm sorry for hitting

you," she said, hanging her head shamefully.

"It's okay. You know that I always keep something in the

lab for little injuries. But I needed that to realize what he meant to

you. I now know there is nothing that will stop you. But, please,

be careful."

Aeka stood tall, looking at the holographic room one

more time. "I'll be back soon," she said, smiling.

Sasami ran up to her, looking into her eyes. "Don't get

hurt, Aeka," she said, grabbing her sister in a hug.

Resting her hand on Sasami's back, she gently rubbed for

a few moments, until Sasami pulled away, smiling, but having

tears run out of the corners of her eyes. Marching the rest of the

way to the doorway, she opened it and stepped through.

"Just seeing you is making me hungry for a nice, juicy

steak."

"If they had a bun big enough, you could pass for

hamburger yourself," Russ said, grinning, standing a dozen yards

away from Zorpheus, waiting to restart the fight again.

"Maybe I'll go out for one of the two when I'm done

pulverizing you," Zorpheus said sarcastically, letting an arrogant

grin creep onto his lips.

"Hah. Says you. I'd say we're at a stalemate, since it

seems that I'm still stronger than you."

"You should take a look at yourself in the mirror, pal. I'd

hate to feel how you look right now. If this is such a stalemate,

then why have you, for the most part, been my personal punching

bag?"

Russ shook his head. "I haven't been, and besides, you

look half naked right now due to your lack of body armor. I still

can't figure out why you even use it, since it doesn't seem to do

anything against someone like me."

"It's a pity that one of your limited fashion sense cannot

appreciate my wild and sexy combat armor," Zorpheus said, trying

to keep himself from laughing.

Rolling his eyes, Russ then shook his head. "Alright,

Fanboy. Whatever you say," he said, looking away for a moment.

Out of nowhere, Russ threw his palm at Zorpheus, releasing a

large, green ki ball.

Blurring out of the way, the blast smashed into a large

boulder from what remained of the mountain, disintegrating it and

causing a small explosion. Floating in midair, he noticed that Russ

didn't see him right away. Grinning, he began to charge up a new

type of ki blast that he had been practicing on rare occasion.

Rotating his arms around in circles, looking like the wax on, wax

off move out of The Karate Kid, blue lightning bolts zapped

around him, gathering in intensity as many white balls of pure

energy seemed to appear out of nowhere, instilling Zorpheus with

their power.

Looking up, Russ could see him doing something strange

and could feel his power build higher and higher, but the move

looked strangely familiar. "I've seen this before"

Cupping his hands to his side, an evil grin on his face, he

thrust his hands forward, releasing a pure white beam of powerful

energy. "HADOUUUUUUU-KEN!" he yelled, sending it toward

Russ.

Widening his eyes, Russ put his arms up to block the

Hadouken, and when it came into contact with his arms, it

exploded around him, pushing him back about three hundred feet.

If it weren't for a ki shield he put up around himself, he would've

been burned to a crisp, as the technique was radically different

from any normal ki attack. His feet left skid marks from where he

stood a moment ago, and a massive depression created a big bowl

from where the attack detonated.

"Okay, this is taking fanboyism to a whole new level," he

mumbled. "But I have my own fanboy attacks too. Watch this,"

he said, bringing his hands in front of him, cupping them together,

and relaxing his body. Glancing up at Zorpheus, he grinned.

"Darkness beyond blackness, deeper than the deepest night" he

recited, black energy coming seemingly out of nowhere, mixing

with Russ's yellow aura, the pulsing sound increasing as the wind

picked up, blowing away from him.

"Not only are you stupid enough to make a ki technique

out of a spell from an anime show," Zorpheus yelled, looking

concerned. "But you have the nerve to model it after THAT

spell?!"

"King of darkness who shines like gold upon the sea of

chaos. I swear allegiance to thee, and I call upon thee! Let the

fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I

possess!" he yelled, a huge black ball gathering in his hands that

were now positioned over his head. His face was contorted with

strain, as he fought to keep control of the enormous amount of

energy that gathered there. "GIGAAAAAAA SLLLLLLLLAVE!"

he yelled, throwing the huge ball at Zorpheus.

"Unlike that clod Shabranigdo, I'm not going to just stand

here and take this!" he yelled, moving out of the way. However,

he misjudged the speed at which the ball was heading at him and it

clipped the edge of his real arm, burning away some of his

encounter suit and melting the rest of it to his skin, causing him to

yell in pain. "Ah shit! That HURTS!"

The Gigaslave spell continued off of the planet and into

space, traveling unobstructed all the way to the asteroid belt.

Finally losing cohesion, the blast detonated, resulting in an

absolutely colossal explosion that rocked the cosmos. The blast

radius continued to grow in size until the point where it could be

seen from Earth. The shockwave from the blast completely

destroyed both Jupiter and Mars, and the edge of the blast

continued to make its way toward the planet. Finally reaching it,

the entire Earth shook from the explosion, knocking Russ off of his

feet, sandblasting the side of the planet, peeling away every bit of

living organic material, leaving nothing but a dusty, lunar-like

surface.

Zorpheus didn't waste any time from Russ's

disorientation. Flying at Russ, yelling like a savage, he stopped

directly in front of Russ's face. Instead of pulling back his fist or

foot for a punch or a kick, he grinned, letting out a large globe of

blue energy, expanding from where he stood, blowing Russ back

several dozen meters.

Skidding to a stop, Russ dropped to one knee, breathing

heavily. "I hate that damn bugzapper technique of yours," he

growled, wiping away a gash on his forehead.

"Heh. And wouldn't you know it, after all this time, I still

have wonderful new things to show you!" he yelled, charging up a

small ball of highly concentrated energy. Thrusting both of his

hands out in front of him, he pushed a small, red ball at Russ at a

low speed.

Watching the ball head toward him, Russ didn't bother

checking the energy output of it. "This isn't very impress" he

started to say as he slapped the ball, trying to send it out of the

way. Going up with the force of the Gigaslave itself, the tiny red

ball detonated, completely engulfing both Russ and Zorpheus. The

radius of the blast expanded out to about a mile, remained for

nearly a full minute, changing from red, to orange, and back again.

After a minute, the ball finally started to dissipate, revealing all the

damage that was done. Russ was lying in the middle of a huge

bowl, the heat of the Itsumashazelukuno bomb melting all the sand

and clay in the ground into dirty glass. Almost not able to move

anymore, Russ started to get up, and then collapsed again, rolling

onto his back. "I LOVE this," he muttered, looking at the dusty

sky.

Zorpheus wasn't much better off, as he too was caught in

the explosion, lying flat on his back, smoking. Trying to drag

himself to his feet, the glass crunching under his weight, he got

himself up to one knee, breathing heavily, trying to shake the

disorientation out of his head. "Dammit, I forgot how big the blast

radius was on that thing," he muttered to himself. Reaching his

full height once more, he grinned. "And can you believe it? I still

have more stuff to show you!"

Forcing himself to stand up to get out of a venerable

position, he remained slouched over, keeping his left hand over his

thigh, which had a deep gash, seeping red with crimson through his

fingers. "What more could you possibly have to show me?" Russ

asked, not really caring.

"Aw, what's the matter? Is it nap time for you already?

Maybe now you realize that raw power doesn't mean diddly squat

if you don't have many colorful ways to use it."

"I still have more techniques to use, but not all of my

abilities have been refined solely for battle. There are other uses

for ki."

"Humph. What kind of Saiyan are you, anyway? I'm

half human, and I have more battle lust than you do. Heh, well, I

have more of ANY kind of lust than you do."

Russ rolled his good eye, as the other one swelled shut

again. "Stop talking about the size of your penis, you pervert. I'm

not interested in hearing about it."

"Oh, so it's penis envy now, eh?!" he yelled, running

forward once again, looking about ready to plant his fist in Russ's

gut.

Watching Zorpheus head at him, Russ positioned himself

to block the shot, but he wound up feeling something smash into

the back of his head, causing him to pitch forward and fall flat on

his face in the dirt. Dust and gravel flew out from under him from

the impact, and Zorpheus slowed down to stop in front of him.

Groaning in pain, he took about ten seconds to return to his feet.

"Oww. What the hell was that? You have someone else here with

you?" Russ snapped, looking behind him, and then back at

Zorpheus. "I didn't feel anything behind me except for that blow."

"Another present from the planet Xnafu. That bomb

technique was the other one, from my latest female companion,"

he said, bouncing his eyebrows.

"You screw up another one?" Russ said, chuckling. "I'm

not surprised."

"Nah. I told her I had to come here and kick your ass.

She understood."

"Yeah, she's really screwed up. You have that effect on

people," Russ returned. "I may look like crap, but I still have

enough fight left in me to beat you and return to the family."

"Says you. This is hardly fun anymore. I've worn out my

favorite toy, it seems. You can barely fight back the way you are

now." Quickly jumping forward, he brought his foot up in

between Russ's legs, nailing him in the mean bean machine. As

Russ's knees knocked together, his face turning purple from the

intense pain, Zorpheus shrugged his shoulders. "As if you ever

really used it. Maybe you could piss out of your butt instead," he

taunted, picking up Russ and throwing him into the air like a

volleyball.

Regaining his bearings just as Zorpheus got to his height,

they began to exchange a flurry of kicks and punches as they

spiraled upward, their flight paths marked by yellow streaks and

sonic shockwaves from all the blows.

Down on the ground, the phantom door opened, letting in

an incredibly bright burst of green aura. Standing there at ground

level, letting the door close behind her, Aeka, fully dressed in her

armor, stood ready, her face showing nothing but hatred and rage

toward Zorpheus.

"AEKA?!" Russ shouted, stopping his offense and turning

his attention to her. "What the HELL are you doing in here?!"

Grinning, Zorpheus answered Russ's question. "Giving

me an opening, of course!" Clapping his fists together, energy

glowing intensely around both his hands, he brought them over his

head and then down on the back of Russ's neck. The energy in his

fists exploded on Russ, making his descent downward much faster

than it normally would have. Russ crashed into the ground and

made another large crater on the lunar landscape.

Seeing this, Aeka's energy exploded around her in a

brilliant green aura. "DON'T YOU HURT HIM ANYMORE!"

she screamed, leaping off of the ground and heading straight at

Zorpheus at top speed, her fist glowing with energy as she drove it

straight at Zorpheus's face.

Zorpheus grinned, watching her with interest. "What is

this? A girl scout trying to sell me cookies for a merit badge?" he

teased, easily leaning out of the way of the punch.

"I'll kill you!" she yelled, withdrawing her fist and

sending it again and again at Zorpheus, going as fast as her body

would allow. "How could you do that to him?!"

Weaving in and out of her blows effortlessly, he

continued to grin. "Because the guy is a selfish cocktease, little

prissy princess."

"I LOVE THAT MAN!" she shouted, sending a small

green ball of energy at Zorpheus. "He loves me too! He told me

he does!"

Slapping the ball into orbit, Zorpheus shook his head.

"He's never told you that. I know him well enough to know that

he'd never say, 'I love you,' to another woman. And even if he

has, it was probably only to keep you from pestering him. That

man can't bring himself to love anyone anymore. How many

times has he shrugged you off Princess? Hmmm?"

"It doesn't matter! He said he was crazy about me and

that's all I need!" she yelled, getting in close again, restarting a

flurry of punches and kicks. Zanzokening behind Zorpheus, she

tried to bury her fist in his spine.

Dodging all of her punches and kicks, he whirled around

and caught her fist with his bionic hand. "Sheesh, it's no wonder

you're still after him. You're too stupid and stubborn to give up.

Maybe a good slap will knock some sense into you!" he yelled,

opening up his real hand and letting it go straight across Aeka's

face, his hand leaving a dark red imprint of itself on her cheek.

Screaming from the shock, she put her hand over the

imprint of Zorpheus's hand. "How DARE you!" she snarled,

bringing her foot up in between Zorpheus's legs.

Watching her foot collide with his ever-present ki barrier,

Zorpheus frowned. "You know, you really know how to take the

fun out of things." Still holding onto her hand, he doubled up a fist

and let his real hand go across her head in a backhand. Jerking her

forward, he buried his knee in her gut, and then released her hand.

Doubling up his hands together, he moved over Aeka's hunched

body and let a double axe handle go in the middle of her back,

sending her down to the ground.

Impacting on the ground, she bounced off of it, flying

back into the air about ten feet, then hit the dirt again, remaining

motionless.

"AEKA!" Misaki shouted, jumping right out her throne.

"Get my ship ready for departure, NOW!" Asuza boomed,

also rising out of his throne. "We're leaving immediately to Earth!

Ready my personal escort fleet!"

Two guards ran out of the room to relay the message as

Funaho, Asuza, and Misaki all made their way out of the throne

room, heading to the transporter pad. Azaka and Kamidake

followed, flanking the royal family on either side. A computer

screen floated with them, continuing to display the ongoing battle

between Zorpheus, Russ, and now Aeka.

Misaki looked very upset, as she saw how Zorpheus

disposed of her without even trying. She was very worried as to

what was going to happen next. She tried not to think about her

daughter losing her life, as that was far too traumatic for even her

to handle.

The phantom door reopened, letting in the rest of the

family. They all ran up to Aeka, and both Tenchi and Ryoko

placed themselves in between Zorpheus and Aeka, intending to try

to protect her. Somehow, after a few moments, Aeka managed to

return to her feet, a trickle of crimson running from the corner of

her mouth.

"Heh, Heh, Heh. The ants try to mount a defense against

my crushing heel. This is just sickeningly noble, heroic, and

disgustingly futile. You know, I was originally going to give her

the good time Russ never would, but I wouldn't want the kids to

see it, so I'll just cut to the chase right here," he said, raising his

finger and pointing it at Aeka. "Goodbye, annoying pest. You

should be thanking me. I will save you from a miserable break-

up." His fingertip began to glow purple as the energy charged up,

and he gave them all a sadistic grin. "BANG!"

Russ, lying in his crater, saw Zorpheus point his finger at

Aeka, and he instantly knew what he was doing. Exploding out of

his depression as fast as he could go, he raced against the speed of

the beam, trying to head it off. He could see it getting closer and

closer, as he too, got closer and closer to the beam. Reaching out

as far as his arm would go, extending his fingertips to stop the bulk

of the blast, he saw it pass by, missing it by the width of a

millimeter. It singed his fingertips and his expression when to pure

horror, as he knew he didn't make it in time. Looking down

toward the family, Russ could only watch, as he didn't have

enough time to focus for the instantaneous movement ability.

"LOOK OUT!" he screamed, seeing Tenchi put up his lighthawk

wings.

Tenchi didn't stand in the way of the blast itself, but he

put one of the wings in between the beam and Aeka. In almost an

instant, the beam reached him and contacted the lighthawk wing,

and it passed right through it, as if it wasn't even there. The

lighthawk wing broke apart like a piece of glass, shattering on a

hard floor.

Continuing on, the beam reached its intended target and

found its mark on the right side of Aeka's chest, blowing a hole

through her about an inch in diameter, just over her right breast.

Her face was frozen into shock, as was everybody else's. Russ

stared at her, his jaw hanging open, and the rest of the family

looked at her as she looked down on herself, seeing the blood pour

forth from the open wound, and then she collapsed to the ground,

flat on her back.

"Ding, dong, the Queen is dead. LONG LIVE THE

KING!" Zorpheus yelled, striking several poses reminiscent of

Hulk Hogan. However, something clicked inside of his head, as

realization had set in over what just happened. "What the fuck did

I just do?" he asked himself, his eyes and face in utter shock and

horror. A moment after saying that, a headache unlike one he ever

felt before crashed through his mind, causing him to scream in

agony.

Sasami looked up at him, feeling a change beginning to

take place. "Something is wrong with Zorpheus! Look!" she

yelled pointing at him, however, everybody was ignoring her as

they were tending to Aeka.

Floating in midair, Russ saw Aeka fall to the ground,

blood dripping from the gaping hole in her chest, and upon seeing

the horrid spectacle, something inside of his brain snapped. His

aura flaring around him, he turned around and sped at Zorpheus

faster than he had ever moved before, surrounding his fist with

golden energy, letting it go straight into Zorpheus's face.

Still screaming from the battle going on in his mind,

Zorpheus's head snapped back and came forward, blood gushing

out of his nose. He opened his eyes and looked into Russ's face,

which was contorted into a look that he had never actually seen

before, as he wasn't there when Laurie was vanquished. Russ's

eyes were on fire, and he could see an incredible amount of

emotion built up within them. Seeing Russ put his fists over his

head, he didn't even have the strength to mount a defense, and he

saw both fists crash down onto his chest, getting caught in a huge

Masenko beam, sending him to the ground and burying him from

the impact.

"Lady Tokimi?" D3 asked his goddess, who looked to be

straining herself. "What is wrong?"

"This is amazing," she said, concentrating hard, sweat

beading on her forehead. "Zorpheus is resisting my mind

enhancement."

"How is that possible? Nobody has ever been able to

undo something you've done."

"I know. It doesn't seem possible, but he's overcoming

it. But it doesn't matter now anyway," she said, smiling. "They

will destroy each other in a few minutes."

D3 nodded his head as he turned his attention back to his

monitor.

Turning around, Russ flew to the ground at top speed,

stopping only a foot above the dirt, then landing hard. Racing over

to Aeka and the family, they all looked up at him with fear in their

faces and despair in their hearts, as they knew Aeka was dying.

"Aeka! Oh my god, Aeka why the hell did you come

in here?!" Russ asked, trying to keep his emotions buried under his

poker face as he knelt down, taking Aeka's hand in his own, gently

caressing it. Washu was over Aeka, putting pressure on her

wound, trying to stop the bleeding, saying nothing, completely

focused on trying to save Aeka's life.

She coughed, spitting up a mouthful of blood. "I

wanted to be here with you," she said, softly, and then smiled, a

happy, satisfied smile. "I want to be with you for the rest of my

life, and I came here to help you."

"You stupid girl," Russ said, his hands shaking violently

from the mental stress. "I told you to stay out of here."

Still smiling, Aeka reached up and caressed Russ's face.

"I know. I just wanted to be with you," she said, her eyes

getting heavy. She moaned in pain, the tears running down her

cheeks, the blood running down her chin. "That's all I ever

wanted."

"Not again! Not this again!" Russ yelled, his hands

shaking so violently that he looked like he was being electrocuted.

"Don't die, Aeka. Don't die because of me!"

Smiling, she sniffled. "I'm so happy that the last thing

I'll get to see is you," she whispered. "I love you, Russ." Her

hand going limp, Russ felt it slide out of his own hand and fall to

the ground.

"Aeka?! AEKAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Sasami screamed,

horrified that her sister, who she had known for her entire life,

which was her mother when her real mom wasn't there, her sister,

and her best friend for the many years of her life, was now lying

lifeless in front of her. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Tenchi grabbed Sasami and held her tightly, tears running

down his own face. "Oh my god, Aeka. This can't be real. IT

CAN'T BE!"

Mihoshi and Kiyone both started crying hysterically,

scarcely able to believe that the Princess of Jurai was now lying

dead in front of them. They had known her for the last several

years, living with her and visiting with her as if she were a normal

person. They had the best time of their lives with her, and the

thought of never spending another day with her was too much to

bear.

Washu stepped back, her green eyes wide, as she shook

her head back and forth, her face a mask of horror. "No" she

whispered. "Come on, Aeka." Getting down on her knees, she

connected up a special life support cable to her computer, that she

withdrew out of subspace. Typing at a speed that would've made

Data from Startrek envious, she tuned it to Aeka and tried to make

it revive her. Each shock, each test, each and every attempt to

bring her back failed, and after nearly a minute of trying, she

backed off, shaking her head. "I CAN'T DO ANYTHING!" she

screamed, tears pouring out of her eyes.

Standing by, completely in shock, Ryoko seemingly had

no reaction. Her face was pale and devoid of life or any kind of

sense, as she could not believe that her lifelong rival and most

recently, her best friend, had just passed away. Collapsing to her

knees, she buried her face in her hands, crying uncontrollably,

pounding the ground in frustration. "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Some distance away, Zorpheus finally managed to dig

himself out and he took off into the air once again, looking down at

the scene he just created. The throbbing pain was still in his head,

but he felt strangely disgusted from killing her. But another

feeling was pulling at him even harder, and it made him look down

at Russ.

Getting to his feet, keeping his movements very slow,

Russ looked at each of the family members, burning their looks

into his memory. Each of them turned to look at him in turn, some

mixed with rage, some with the look of despair, and some that

looked on him with pity and hatred.

"Tenchi," Russ said, keeping his voice low. "Stay here

with Aeka. Protect them until this is finished. It will only take a

minute. I guarantee it."

Looking at Russ, they could see his energy start burning

around him, much like when Goku first approached Frieza for the

first time. White flames marked his outline, and when the family

saw his eyes, they knew that he was slowly losing his mind, his

sanity, and the remaining shreds of his humanity. He was

becoming what everybody feared most, that of a true Super Saiyan.

A ruthless, heartless, radically efficient killing machine could only

remotely describe what Russ was becoming, and it scared the hell

out of the entire family. His fists were clenched at his sides, so

tightly that blood was seeping from them, as his fingernails dug

holes into the palms of his hands.

"What are you going to do?" Tenchi said, his voice

wavering, as he clutched the little princess, who was still crying

heavily.

"I will finish this, once and for all. I will be back in a

moment. Use your lighthawk wings to shield everybody from the

blast. There is one final thing I will do once this is over," he said,

walking away, making a slow, purposeful walk toward Zorpheus.

"You just can't get enough of me, can you?" Zorpheus

asked, grinning. "Perhaps it is time to end this. You, the Brady

Bunch over there, and this ridiculous excuse for a battle room will

be annihilated shortly." Clenching his fists, he began to power up

to his absolute maximum, howling and screaming as the earth

below him shook in the wake of his energy. However, Russ didn't

seem to be fazed at all, as he continued to slowly put distance

between him and the family. Suddenly feeling a tinge of fear, he

knew something was wrong, because he had never seen Russ look

like that before in his entire life.

"Fine. Don't leave any famous last words. Prepare to

feel my wrath!" he screamed, bringing his hands in front of him,

making two fists, putting one on top of the other, as if holding

something. Several flashes later, a white outline of a sword

appeared, the blade facing upward about three feet, and Zorpheus

began focusing all of his energy into his signature move.

Still walking, his yellow aura exploded around him,

destroying the ground he walked on, burning bigger and brighter

than it ever had before. A blue lightning bolt crossed his vision,

but it never returned. Driving his energy up to his maximum, he

continued to walk forward, slowly, methodically. Finally coming

to a stop, he looked up at Zorpheus with a look that could've

frozen all seven layers of hell at once. "You. Are. DEAD!" Russ

roared, his aura doubling in size, causing the entire planet to begin

to break apart, as it was barely able to stay together from the sheer

amount of energy Russ was producing.

"This is wrong," Zorpheus said, feeling Russ's energy

reach his level, and then blow right by it, effortlessly. "He was

never this strong!" However, he knew that his signature move was

more powerful than Russ's, and he perfected it a long time before

Russ made his. "Prepare yourself, Russ!" he shouted. A white

ball of energy began forming in front of the white sword, with little

white balls of energy coming out of Zorpheus and infusing itself

into the ball.

Tenchi stood in front of Aeka, his lighthawk wings

shielding the family from their auras. He was straining hard, his

forehead dripping with sweat, his eyes stinging from all the tears

he had shed. Grunting and straining against the tremendous

pressure, he almost gave way, until he felt a hand touch his

shoulder. Ryoko looked into his face, tears streaming out of her

eyes, but she smiled. Nodding his head, he knelt down and

allowed Ryoko to stand behind him, infusing him with her power.

The lighthawk wings tripled in size, blocking out everything that

was happening, allowing Tenchi to relax a little from the massive

rush of energy he received from Ryoko.

The rest of the family was watching Russ, watching him

push himself beyond his limits and beyond anything they've ever

imagined, even in their wildest dreams. There was just so much

energy coming from the two combatants that it overwhelmed them.

Placing both of his hands out in front of him, Russ began

focusing his energy into his own signature attack, letting the

yellow ball grow and expand in size very quickly, blue lighting

dancing around the outer diameter of it, until it was ready. "You

son of a bitch! NOW DIE! BUSTER CANNON FIRE!" he

screamed, his voice going to the far reaches of the planet, as the

yellow beam shot out of the ball, surrounded in blue lightning.

"I'll SEE YOU IN HELL!" Zorpheus yelled, shoving his

sword forward. "HOLY RAZE!" A brilliant, pure white beam

exploded from in front of Zorpheus, heading straight for Russ's

cannon.

Both beams met in the middle, slamming into each other

with enough force to destroy the surface of the Earth, causing

volcanic eruptions for miles around. The shockwave impacted

against Tenchi's lighthawk wings, causing them to blink from the

incredible amount of energy that slammed into them. Both Ryoko

and him strained, trying to keep the blades from collapsing, and

they just barely recovered, letting a little of the blast through,

kicking up the dust around them.

Both Russ and Zorpheus screamed at the very top of their

voices, straining to overcome their opponent's beam. The sound

from the two weapons was deafening, as they could barely hear

themselves yell. Raising his power just a little more, Zorpheus

made his beam a little bigger, sending a pulse down the length of

his blast, slamming into the buster cannon and forcing it back a

little. "You will not survive!"

Forcing his energy higher, Russ pushed back against

Zorpheus's attack, keeping both beams equally spaced. However,

little by little, Zorpheus's beam was gaining ground, forcing him

back.

"COME ON, RUSS!" Ryoko screamed, straining to just

hold back the force of their energy. "YOU HAVE TO WIN!"

"I believe in you, Russ!" Sasami yelled, choking back her

tears. "I forgive you!"

Screaming louder, Russ shoved more energy out of his

hands and into his beam, forcing a huge bulge of energy down the

length of his blast, forcing Zorpheus's attack back, regaining some

ground. His face was nothing but a mask of fury, as he looked like

a lion preparing to kill his prey.

Zorpheus felt the added strain on his own beam, and he

again raised his power beyond his maximum, forcing Russ's beam

to stop advancing, and turning the tables again. "I WILL NOT

LOSE!"

Watching the beam get closer and closer, Russ could feel

himself slipping away. "You took the only woman to ever capture

my heart away from me!" he shouted, fighting on. "It doesn't

matter what happens to me now. I WILL STOP YOU!" he

screamed.

Sensing something going crazy inside of his opponent,

Zorpheus felt that rush of fear enter his mind again as he recovered

from the mind enhancement. "What the hell?"

Continuing to scream in pain, agony, and despair, Russ

began to glow a brilliant golden color. Not his aura, but his body

as a whole. The buster cannon's ball began to come apart, forming

into something entirely different and new. After a moment, it

formed into a parabolic dish, about thirty feet in diameter, with

Russ at the very back. Strangely enough, the buster cannon

continued to erupt from the center of it, keeping Zorpheus's beam

at bay.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Zorpheus yelled, feeling

Russ's energy shoot way up. "You're going to explode if you keep

that up!"

Not hearing him, or not caring, Russ continued to build up

every joule of energy his body had left, preparing to force it out all

at once. The dish finally formed and banged into place, and a blue

outline streaked around the outer edge of it, forming four, bright

blue points, evenly spaced around the dish, still connected by the

solid blue line that traced around the outer perimeter. "My life

doesn't matter anymore," Russ said, looking at Zorpheus through

the beams. "I will kill you. That I promise, even if it kills me

too," he said, the blue lights becoming brighter has his body

became almost pure energy. "Violent Heart."

The fabric of reality seemed to bend and fold around the

explosion that erupted out of the circular dish. The four points of

blue light shot out four small beams to a central point, about

twenty feet in front of the bowl, and a tremendously powerful,

solid yellow beam exploded out of the center of the dish, meeting

the blue points, and combining. The buster cannon discontinued as

the Violent Heart attack took its place, the head of the beam a blue

circle, attached by the four smaller streaks of blue light that rode

alongside the yellow blast. It looked like a miniature death star

superlaser, except with blue and yellow instead of green.

"SUPER KAIOKEN!" Zorpheus screamed, his aura

changing from yellow to red, feeling a massive upsurge of energy

and a radical amount of pain as his attack tripled in size and power.

The extreme bulge of the beam raced down and met the Violent

Heart head-on.

Katsuhito looked up from his paperwork on his table, his

cup of tea showing vibrations in the liquid. "This is it," he said,

aloud.

What happened next nothing short of impossible. The

Violent Heart didn't even slow down when the bulk of Zorpheus's

beam slammed into it. It forced it back at such a radical speed that

it may as well not even have been there. Russ's scream was

drowned out by the incredible amount of noise, shaking, and power

that was being produced from his body. His hands began to burn

and blister, unable to withstand the sheer amount of energy he was

forcing through them. His body began to disintegrate, blood

bursting out of his veins over several parts of his body, squirting

into the ground and then vaporizing, not able to exist so close to

the attack. The sky parted, revealing outer space through the blue

atmosphere, and all the clouds seemed to retreat all the way to the

horizon and beyond. The ground in front of him became a canyon

nearly a mile wide, and a mile deep.

"This can't be happening!" Zorpheus screamed, seeing

the beam come straight at him. "IT'S COMING TOO FAST!" All

he could do was watch the bulk of the beam reach him and

overtake him, feeling such an incredible amount of pain from the

blast that he could feel himself coming apart. His scream was

silenced as the beam hit him, his Holy Raze vanishing from sight.

The entire surrounding area became a blinding light,

causing everybody except for Tenchi and Ryoko to shield their

eyes, turning away from the scene.

About a minute later, the rumbling ceased, the light

returned to normal, and it became deathly quiet. Dust was still

blowing about where the final attack had taken place, and nobody

could sense anything. The battle between the two most powerful

warriors in existence had finally concluded.

Letting his lighthawk wings vanish, Tenchi dropped to

one knee, breathing heavily. "That was incredible," he choked out,

trying to catch his breath.

Ryoko fell onto his back, also breathing very heavily.

"It's over."

"Yes." Standing up again, he slowly turned around and

looked at Aeka's fallen body, her face peaceful, but covered in

violence too. She looked asleep, but she also looked tortured.

Leaning down, he carefully put his arms under her, lifting her up to

carry her out of the room. "We should tell her parents," Tenchi

said, softly.

Nobody cried as they looked at Aeka, feeling the sadness,

but unable to act on it.

"What's that?" Sasami said, feeling something odd,

looking toward the dust cloud.

"What do you mean, Sasami?" Washu asked, looking lost

and hopeless.

"Look!" she said, pointing at a silhouette of a man.

"No way" Tenchi said, his eyes wide.

Russ remained standing, his arms still outstretched, as if

he were a statue. Letting his arms drop to his sides, he slowly

turned around, no longer a super saiyan. His hair and eyebrows

had returned to black, and his eyes did as well. He looked much

smaller and frailer than ever before, as he limped his way over to

the family, dragging his foot that had the gouge in it, blood

dripping from nearly every surface on his body. His clothes were

tattered and shredded, and his blue undershirt with his pants was

the only pieces of his gi that remained.

Tenchi and Ryoko both looked at him in surprise and

terror, as they couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Russ?"

Ryoko said, not sure if it was really him.

Ignoring her, Russ slowly made his way past her and

stopped in front of Tenchi. "Put her down, please," he requested,

breathing heavily.

"Why?" he asked, not sure why he asked that himself.

"Please put her down," Russ asked again, barely able to

stand as he swayed from side to side with the wind. He almost

looked like he was going to fall over at any second.

Trusting him, Tenchi knelt down and very gently, laid

Aeka back down on the ground. Looking into her face once more,

Russ closed his eyes, raising his blistered hands, palms outward,

toward Aeka. "Now get back."

"What are you going to do?!" Washu yelled, looking at

him. "You're in no shape to do anything!"

Again, ignoring her, Russ concentrated. Everybody held

his or her breath collectively, watching, waiting to see what he was

going to do. After nearly a solid minute of concentrating, he began

to glow, a soft white glow that seemed to emit a holy light, but not

like Zorpheus's attack. Opening his eyes, he looked down at

Aeka's form, and released his energy in a soft beam that entered

Aeka's body, causing her to glow along with him. Small bubbles

of color rode the beam into Aeka's body, coming from Russ's own

tattered body.

Sasami gasped, watching her sister. The gaping hole over

her chest was slowly disappearing, as were the bruises she suffered

at the hands of Zorpheus. It was slow, methodical, and

miraculous, but her sister was being put back to normal somehow.

The noise was a very quiet and peaceful hum, as they watched

Russ pour the last of his energy into Aeka's body, healing her, and

trying to revive her.

"Come on," Russ said, after the last of Aeka's wounds

disappeared. Continuing to put his energy into Aeka's body, he

did not stop until he knew that Aeka would live. Finally

discontinuing the beam, he still stood over his forbidden love, his

hands still outstretched, has he held his breath and waited.

Sasami, Tenchi, Washu, Ryoko, Kiyone, and Mihoshi all

looked at Russ and Aeka, a mix of fear, hope, and disbelief on each

of their visages. They each remained silent, hoping against hope

that Russ performed yet another miracle.

Lying down on the ground, Aeka remained motionless

and lifeless for a few moments, until her mouth opened to take in a

huge breath of air. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked into the

sky, wondering where she was, as she was unable to figure out

why she was back on Earth and not in Heaven.

"Oh my god!" Misaki yelled, onboard the king's ship,

now heading toward Earth with an escort fleet of three hundred

ships, tears pouring out of her eyes. "She's ALIVE! How the hell

did Russ do that?! That's IMPOSSIBLE! Only a god can do

that!"

"He is no god," Asuza said, looking at the viewscreen.

"But he has performed a miracle. That is nothing short of

incredible. He has saved our daughter's life, but he was the one at

fault for having it taken away too."

"I don't care!" she yelled. "Our daughter is alive!"

"AEKA!!" Sasami yelled, pulling free of Tenchi and

running up to her sister. She dropped to her knees and looked into

her sister's eyes with the tears pouring out of her own. "You're

alive!" Throwing her arms around Aeka, she buried her face in

Aeka's chest, squeezing with all her might. "You're alive!"

Still stunned, unable to come up with an explanation,

Aeka looked down at her sister, then back at the family. Slowly

reaching up, she touched Sasami, as if she were a ghost, but she

then hugged her, pulling her close, letting a smile creep onto her

lips and letting the tears flow from her eyes.

Washu stood by, completely awestruck and baffled over

what she just witnessed. No modern miracle could've done that

and it still seemed almost surreal that it did happen. Tears welling

up in her eyes again, she continued to look at Aeka, and then at the

hole in her clothes, which was now bare, clean skin.

"Unbelievable."

Both Tenchi and Ryoko smiled warmly, holding each

other close, very, very happy that Aeka was back with them.

"Welcome back," they both said in unison.

Aeka took each of their expressions and set those

memories in stone within her mind. She smiled, tears streaming

down her cheeks, as she continued to hold her crying sister.

Finally looking to her other side, she saw Russ standing there,

breathing heavily, and looking like an absolute mess, but he was

smiling. Nevertheless, she sensed something was very wrong with

him as she watched him. "Are you okay?" she asked, hearing the

sound of her voice once again.

"Welcome back, Aeka," he said, quietly, his voice

somewhat garbled from the fluid gathering in his throat.

Looking up from her sister, Sasami watched Russ, a mix

of worry and concern on her face. "Russ? What's wrong?"

Glancing down at Sasami, Russ smiled, a happy,

contented, and fulfilled smile. "I'm sorry, Sasami, but I have to

break a promise that I made to you," he said, lowering his arms to

his sides.

"What do you mean?" she asked, the tears still streaming

from her eyes from being overjoyed. "You brought my sister back

to life!"

Shaking his head slowly, Russ continued to smile. "Not

that one, Sasami. To bring Aeka back, I had to use up all of my

energy, and my life force. I gave her everything I had left to let

her live," he said. "I gave up my life to let your sister live."

"What are you saying?" Aeka asked, concerned. "You're

here, I'm here. It'll all work out!"

Again shaking his head, Russ still smiled. "I'm sorry,

Aeka. I never meant for any of this to happen, especially letting

you die. But I feel strangely at peace with myself, and fulfilled. I

don't know what it is about you, but there was something in my

mind that insisted that you had to live. As I always said, you're far

more important than myself, and I guess that is what gives you the

right to live."

"Stop talking nonsense," she said, her voice skipping like

she was laughing. "You're going to be just fine, aren't you?" she

asked, but gasped as she saw a couple of tears at the corners of

Russ's eyes. It was the first time she had seen a man like him cry,

and it was then that she knew what he had done.

His black pupils slowly began to fade, lightening to a

gray, and then nearly disappearing altogether, Russ raised his right

hand, giving her a thumb up. "I'm sorry, Aeka. I wish I could've

been your lover," he said, his voice shaking, but he still maintained

that warm, fulfilled smile. "No need for Dragonballs." Feeling the

wind over his battered skin, he felt himself falling onto his side,

but he never felt the impact of when he hit the ground. The wind

continued to stir his hair, his face still smiling, his thumb still

pointed upward, as he let himself go, his entire life playing before

his eyes, but the most tender moments of it playing again and

again, and that being the final year of his life. Russ, one of the

most powerful warriors the family had ever had the pleasure of

meeting, knowing, and loving, passed away.

Again, the entire family watched him fall and thud against

the ground, their jaws hanging open, completely blown away that

one of his caliper was now lying dead in front of them. Their

emotions were thrown into absolute turmoil again, as they

witnessed the death and rebirth of one of their most loved ones,

and now, witnessed the death of another.

"Russ?" Aeka said, still not able to believe that he could

be dead. "Russ?! RUSS!? RUUUUUSSSS!!!" she screamed,

throwing her sister off of him and crawling over to him, putting her

hands on him and shaking him. Screaming to the heavens, she

covered his body with hers and wept like she never had before, all

of her frustration pouring out of her like an uncontrolled river of

rage. The rest of the family all stood by, feeling the lump in their

throats, thinking of all the happiness he had give them since

coming to live with them. But as he said, "But when the time

comes, I may have to leave." They never imagined that he'd be

leaving in this way.

Elsewhere, about a quarter mile away from where Russ

and the family were, a hand grabbed a fistful of dirt, listening to

everything that had happened

To be continued


	17. Author's Note

There is another chapter or two but the site my bud submitted this to went down a while back and he hasn't finished submitting all of the chapters, at this point i doubt he will. I'm goin to try and get ahold of him, been a while, and see if he still has this story so i can submit the rest. As for the continuation of my stories i hope to start back again soon now that i have regular access to a compy. Problem is is that i am now in the process of writing my first novel, so i'll be a lil slow in comin with new chapters.... Thanks for continuing reading my fics!!


End file.
